Born: December 15, 1957
Manhattan, New York

Groing up out in the country side of eastern long island with parents who both were involved with the arts in Manhattan made a creative childhood for me. My mother, Marguerite Dahlstrom Cato, was a fashion model, during the late 1940's to the early 1960's & for many years with the Ford Agency, working with Scavullo, Avedon & the twin Abbe sisters (Fuffy & Franny) & many others. My father, Robert Garcia Cato was an art director for magazines & VP of creative arts & services for CBS Records during the middle 1950's to the late 1960's - and afterwards a freelance graphic designer, photographer & artist.

Pretty much surrounded by ocean & farmland, we Cato kids grew up around art, jazz & early rock'n'roll. Our parents provided a wonderful garden to grow in. So, we all started playing with paints & pasting paper cut outs onto paper. My brother, Eric, my sister, Tina & I grew up working as child models. With this background, I have found a continuing fascination with the art of collage & my own interests in the profession of the tv/ motion picture production industry.

I lean toward the art technique of collage, along with using paints and mixed media. I've also discovered found objects that spark my imagination to create a piece of art work. For example, old posters, store bags, rusted pieces of metal, a discarded rain slicker & old boxes, other items such as news paper clippings, plastic mesh, black aluminum foil & gold leaf all seem to work together to form the desired affect that I'm searching for to express the message I wish to convey to the viewer. The message can range from politics, tropical island themes, 1960's rock'n'roll, dream imagery, old world mythology, movie characters & themes to humorous observations of the world that surrounds me.

I prefer to work in the abstract, because it is here in each of us that we absorb all the outside information coming at us and try to make sense of it and let it play in our minds, not in a literal way, but in a freely expressive state of mind.

Group shows: Upcoming Show: May 2012 Agora Gallery in Chelsea 530 west 25th Street NYC, 10001 July :: September 1998 Art Home Gallery , sag harbor, ny January 2002 :: Gallery 1199 / Seiu, New York City - also appearing in their 2002 social justice calendar - TheHamptons.com :: Marc Cato