Ronald Markman, an artist who conjured an alternate universe to represent the absurdity he saw in everyday life, then fashioned this whimsical world into sculptures that were outsized in their vibrancy and scale, died on May 30 in Annapolis, Md. He was 86.
Read more: Ronald Markman, an Artist Who Conjured His Own Kingdom, Dies at 86
His daughter, Ericka Markman, said the cause was pneumonia.
In his six-decade career, Mr. Markman sought to break free from the staid principles that defined classical art. For example, he toyed with the idea of nudity, drawing or painting three-breasted mermaids as a commentary on society’s obsession with breasts. The punch line of a story he wrote about the painting was a pretend news article about the discovery of a rare two-breasted woman.
“I think he was poking fun at what’s considered obscene versus what’s considered beautiful and classical,” his daughter said in a telephone interview. “As a person, he wasn’t strident and argumentative, but I think it came out in what he chose to focus on in his art.”
