馬克•渥林格1959年生於英國奇格韋爾，1977-8年就讀艾塞克斯勞頓學院，其後就讀倫敦切爾西藝術學院(1978-81)及倫敦金匠學院(1983-5)。1995年獲「特納獎」提名，2007年榮獲該獎項。1998年獲羅馬英國學校之「亨利•摩爾獎學金」，並於2001年參與德國學術交流中心國際藝術家項目。同年代表英國參加第四十九屆威尼斯雙年展。渥林格現於倫敦生活和工作。
渥林格的作品具有廣泛的感染力。他的早期創作，反映其植根於英國左派的思想傳統。1995年獲提名「特納獎」的作品，是建基於渥林格對賽馬的興趣，主要因為賽馬象徵著英國社會根深蒂固的階級、血統等觀念。這作品是一匹活生生的競賽馬(這匹馬在紐馬基特受過訓練，但只出賽一場就受了傷)，被藝術家取名為《一件真正的藝術品》(1994)，延續了杜象式現成品的概念。從廣義來看，作品也是對二十世紀末的英國身份，包括其歷史神話、傳統、儀式及社會制度的一種諷刺。
英國皇家阿斯科特賽馬是世界最著名的賽馬盛事之一，每年都會舉辦，以其皇室排場與傳統聞名於世。渥林格的作品《皇家阿斯科特賽馬》(1994)，展示英國皇室成員坐在漂亮的馬車中，帶領儀仗隊出巡的場面，國歌高奏，盛況空前。但渥林格把連續幾天不同的巡遊錄像，不斷重複播放在四個並排的顯示屏上，立即突顯了僵化的巡遊儀式和皇室成員機械化的姿態。雖然主角的服飾不同，但儀式的荒謬、英國皇室儀仗隊的刻意求工，均表露無遺。在四個並列的航空箱上放置顯示屏，更加強了對皇室巡遊矯揉造作的諷刺。
2008年，作為五名候選藝術家之一的渥林格，參加在英格蘭東南部艾浦斯福里所舉辦的公共雕塑比賽，為該區活化計劃的一部份。他的設計在2009年獲選，作品是一匹高五十米的純種賽駒巨型雕塑。
近期個展包括：安東尼•雷諾斯畫廊(倫敦，2010)；加里亞．格包亞畫廊(柏林，2010）；亞勞藝術博物館（瑞士，2008）；「不列顛王國」(泰特英國美術館，倫敦；當奴•楊格畫廊，芝加哥，2007)；國家美術館（布拉格，2006）；卡里勞．基爾藝術博物館（墨西哥城，2005）。渥林格亦曾參與大型聯展，其中包括：「感覺：薩奇英國青年藝術家藏品」展(倫敦、柏林、紐約，1997-9)；第五屆伊斯坦堡雙年展（1997）。
Mark Wallinger was born in Chigwell, England in 1959. He studied at Loughton College, Essex, 1977-8; Chelsea School of Art, London, 1978-81, and finally at Goldsmiths College, London, 1983-5. Wallinger was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1995, and won the award in 2007. He was awarded a Henry Moore Fellowship at the British School in Rome, 1998. In 2001, he undertook a DAAD International Artists Programme, Berlin and represented Britain at the 49th Venice Biennale. Wallinger lives and works in London.
Wallinger’s works have a broad appeal. His early works reflected his roots in the tradition of British left-wing thought. For the Turner Prize exhibition in 1995, his work took his interest in horse racing as a metaphor for the British fixation with class and breeding. He extended the Duchampian idea of the ready made to include an actual race horse named by the artist A Real Work of Art (1994) (the horse was trained in Newmarket but ran only one race before being injured). Yet on a more general level, his work can also be read as a satire of the late twentieth century British identity: its historical myths, traditions, ceremonies and social systems.
Royal Ascot, one of the most famous and exclusive horse races in the world, takes place every year and is renowned for its royal pageantry and tradition. In Wallinger’s work entitled Royal Ascot (1994), the artist presents the British Royal Family’s processions during this event in their stunning horse-drawn carriages whilst the national anthem is being played, ceremony at its finest. Yet here he has taken footage from several processions from consecutive days and has looped these to play on four monitors. The repetition of the event brings to light its highly ritualised aspect as well as the mechanical gestures of the Royal Family. Despite the protagonists’ changing outfits, Wallinger brings to light the absurdity of customs, and the highly constructed nature of British pageantry. The work is displayed on four flight cases in a procession, as a satire on the highly artificial nature of the Royal procession.
In 2008, Wallinger was one of the five artists shortlisted for a competition to create a public sculpture in Ebbsfleet, south east England, as part of the regeneration of the area. His proposal to construct a 50-metre high recreation of a thoroughbred racehorse won the competition in 2009.
Selected recent solo exhibitions include: Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London, Carlier Gebauer, Berlin, 2010; Kunstmuseum Aarau, Switzerland, 2008; State Britain, Tate Britain, London, Donald Young Gallery, Chicago, 2007; National Gallery, Prague, 2006; Museo de Arte Carillo Gil, Mexico City, 2005. In addition, Wallinger’s work was included in major group exhibitions such as Sensation: Young British Artists from the Saatchi collection, London, Berlin and New York, 1997-9, and the 5th Istanbul Biennale, 1997.