Michael Fried dropped a handful of pennies into the wet paint of my picture; a true story! It was in recognition of his criticism (of the part to ‘partness’, the sculptural feeling of my work) that I went to Gilmore Glass, a working glass studio near Triangle Workshop (1990) where I was a guest artist. Within the week glass forms found their way into my pictures. So, on Open Studio Day when Sam Golden approached me to ask about those particular blobs, I responded, “It’s glass!”. Sam shook his head, sighed, “One day,” he said, “Mark will make acrylic that clear. And you will not need that glass!” That day is here! In this work (Arabian Night), on that wall!!