黑料不打烊

Marc Mannheimer is an artist – originally from New York – with a long-lasting career in the arts and education. His work has coalesced into a multimedia exploration of the Plagues of Egypt from the Old Testament of the Bible. The Ten Plagues are a violent display of divine wrath, from pests and frogs to disease and destruction. In all, the plagues are as follows: water turning to blood, frog infestations, lice, wild animals, pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness, and the death of a first born. Despite this, Mannheimer explores the themes with vibrant paints, varying textures, and eye-catching subjects.

The impetus for this series happened in an odd way. In March of 2005 I was in Paris and got on an otherwise empty Metro car early one morning. There was a smell of urine but when looking around all I saw was what I thought was a large pile of rags in a corner seat against the cab. Upon further visual inspection, from my seat, I realized there was a person under those rags, fully covered. I took out the sketch book I always have with me and did a quick sketch of what I saw.

Marc Mannheimer, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Boils/Slugs, 2024, Oil, gold leaf, and 3D Prints on Canvas. Courtesy of MarcMannheimer.com

There is something to be said about these moments in space, where we witness someone in a position we can’t fathom. And yet, Mannheimer found a striking humanity amidst it all. He transformed this moment into a two-canvas painting titled Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Water to Blood. In it, a figure is completely wrapped in white cloth, juxtaposed by another canvas depicting a rushing waterfall. There is elegance to this piece, despite the moment that inspired it being quite opposite.

I had been thinking of painting the Ten Plagues of Egypt from the Bible’s Old Testament for several years. Something about this work felt like this was the beginning of the series.

His work alludes to stories of plague, decay, and sickness with symbolic objects and classically posed figures. He explores surreal worlds and dramatic characters, all framed with Biblical context and themes. When asked about the “Path to Enlightenment" phrase that came before each plague painting title, Mannheimer explained:

The reason why there is “Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment” as a beginning title of each painting in the series, as well for other works, has to do with my following of Tibetan Buddhism. Around the time I began this painting I had finished reading this text. I saw a relationship between the “Path to Enlightenment” and the escape of the People of Israel from the Pharaoh and their wandering “path” to the Promised Land.

Marc Mannheimer, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Flies, 2023, Oil, Wood, and 3D Prints on Canvas. Courtesy of MarcMannheimer.com

Not only does he, as an artist, synthesize theological knowledge as a means of describing human experience, he also finds ways of incorporating different materials in his works. Many of his paintings have 3D elements, some with cast fiberglass as seen in Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Hail, other pieces incorporated 3D-printed objects. This application was used in Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Flies. Of the paintings that incorporated these different elements, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Death to The First Born was the most impactful, perhaps in the entire series. A woman is laying in a fetal position, clutching a stone, and pulling it to her womb. Her legs spindle out into wooden vines, protruding from the canvas. It is clear she is a vulnerable and grieving mother, who decays as she has lost the life of a child. It is somber, just as it is startling.

Marc Mannheimer, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Death to The First Born, 2020, Oil and Wood on Canvas. Courtesy of

I know that many of the works in this series are quite challenging to the viewer, and that is intentional. The story behind these plagues is horrible and I want the viewer to be struck by what people have, and too many today still do, endure.

When asked which artists inspire him, Mannheimer replies:

I have had the joy of teaching art history for many years and been able to study, teach and live extensively in Italy, mainly Florence. This opened me up to many 15th-17th century artists. Those who have and do affect me are Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Jacopo Pontormo and Agnolo Bronzino, among others…I have greatly been influenced by Max Ernst and Francis Picabia. More recently, Lucien Freud and Francis Bacon.

While this series of works has been ongoing for many years, their relevance has evolved with changing environments. Like the artists he mentions, his pieces are timely. Ernst and Bacon, in particular, pushed forward a desire to be conscious of the constructs of our world, our fears, our anxieties, and our pressures. It holds the mirror to the more uncomfortable moments of human history and invites discussion and criticism amongst viewers. Mannheimer, in turn, has acknowledged these feelings in the 21st century. This includes events like the COVID-19 pandemic, which influenced his piece on one of the plagues: Hail.

Marc Mannheimer, Lamp for the Path to Enlightenment: Hail, 2022, Oil and Fiberglass on Canvas. Courtesy of

Mannheimer discusses his hopes on what he hopes to convey, by saying in an interview:

My work is very layered in meaning, though I do not expect the viewer to “see” this but to hopefully be drawn in by the images themselves. I would say my work can be challenging to the viewer but hopefully they spend some time looking and allowing the aspects of it to be revealed. Most important to me is that my work evokes a response, be it positive or negative, indifference is hopefully avoided.

Having the opportunity to sit with an artist is always a gift. While the spiritualism of different faiths has been used to inform his works, Mannheimer also took great care in exploring the topic with empathy, understanding of the literature, and legitimate honesty. In addition, Mannheimer’s technical ability and interest in exploring new mediums and tools convey his message with unique dynamism and style. Marc Mannheimer currently enjoys a life of teaching, painting, reflection, and political advocacy for various environmental and social causes. He has been teaching for over two decades at Northern Essex Community college and has been featured in galleries and several publications. While this series began in 2005, this endeavor has become almost exactly two decades long. Mannheimer’s “Path to Enlightenment” is an ongoing conversation, and one that seems to endure and persevere, much like the subjects of his works.

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