Marc Ross was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He received his B.F.A. degree from Ohio University, attended graduate school at the University of Chicago, and completed his M.F.A. degree in painting at Kent State University. While attending the University of Chicago, Ross was fortunate to be part of a small-group seminar led by the late art critic Harold Rosenberg which instilled in him the belief that you learn and grow as an artist through the physical act of creating your artwork.
After finishing graduate school, Ross enrolled in a private commercial art school in Cleveland to study mechanical/ technical drawing and airbrushing. He then spent many years in the commercial art field as a designer, staff illustrator for Penton Publishing and freelancer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Sunday editorial page. After moving to Baltimore, Maryland, he was employed as a technical illustrator and then as a faux-finish painter while continuing to develop his fine art painting. Ross also worked as an adjunct art instructor at Cuyahoga Community College’s eastern and western campuses, the Columbus College of Art and Design’s Saturday program and The Ohio State University’s Foundations program. After Ross earned a degree in education from Ashland University, he taught art for sixteen years in a public high school.
Throughout the last two decades Ross has been experimenting and developing a method of painting that was featured in his 2017 solo exhibit at The Butler Institute of American Art. Ross’s work has also been exhibited in numerous venues, including the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Klutznick National Jewish Museum of Washington, D.C., the Southern Ohio Museum, and various galleries in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Baltimore, Washington D.C., Cleveland, Columbus, and Pittsburgh. Currently he is represented by Bonfoey Gallery.
In recent years, Marc has recieved an Individuals Grant from the Greater Columbus Arts Council 2018 & 2019, as well as the Ohio Arts Council’s Individual Excellence Award for FY 2021.