Mark Flood’s paintings are sumptuous compositions which incorporate painted images of tattered and torn lace set against backgrounds of bold saturated colors. They are torn and soiled remnants of doilies, tablecloths and curtains, yet they retain dignity and harbor storytelling potential. The filigree patterns have been destroyed by holes and rips, but the stray threads and ragged edges create other, irregular shapes that, like clouds, suddenly appear to be specific things. There is an enduring tension in Flood’s work between the rigorous patterning of the lace and the chaos of the tearing and flung threads which engages viewers emotionally.