The Victory Series I
Mark Alexander
Mark Alexander
2003
oil on canvas
86 3/5" diameter (220 cm)
This work is shown in collaboration with independent curators Thea Westreich and Ethan Wagner, New York.
"The Victory Series I", rendered in a grand scale, broadly references ancient to contemporary symbology. The circular canvas is in the tondo form, a compositional style of painting or relief dating back to Greek antiquity, later revived and named during the Renaissance. At the center of the painting is a self-portrait by the artist as a two-year old, with an expression devoid of emotion, which Alexander refers to as "The Primitive Gaze", a universal phenomenon found in a number of disparate works, including the statues of Easter Island, Minoan masks, and Warhol self-portraits. This gaze conveys a sort of death-in-lifeness and life-in-deathness. Surrounding this self-portrait are concentric rings of flames, recalling a motif seen in an early engraving of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Alexander's work is characterized by meticulous, labor-intensive brushwork; according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, he resorts to a sort of "manic fastidiousness". The newspaper continues, "The works of this self-taught artist combine elements of eighteenth-century classicism, nineteenth-century photography, and modern photo-realism."
Mark Alexander (b. 1966) graduated from Oxford University in 1996. His work has been shown at galleries in London and Berlin and notable group shows include "I am a Camera" at Saatchi Gallery, London, and "Painting on the Move" at the Kunsthalle in Basel. His work included in important private collections worldwide, including the Rubell Family Collection and the Collection of Sir Evelyn and Lady de Rothschild.
Video Part 1
Video Part 2
Inquiries: info@moss-gallery.com
MARK ALEXANDER CV
"The Victory Series I", rendered in a grand scale, broadly references ancient to contemporary symbology. The circular canvas is in the tondo form, a compositional style of painting or relief dating back to Greek antiquity, later revived and named during the Renaissance. At the center of the painting is a self-portrait by the artist as a two-year old, with an expression devoid of emotion, which Alexander refers to as "The Primitive Gaze", a universal phenomenon found in a number of disparate works, including the statues of Easter Island, Minoan masks, and Warhol self-portraits. This gaze conveys a sort of death-in-lifeness and life-in-deathness. Surrounding this self-portrait are concentric rings of flames, recalling a motif seen in an early engraving of Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Alexander's work is characterized by meticulous, labor-intensive brushwork; according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, he resorts to a sort of "manic fastidiousness". The newspaper continues, "The works of this self-taught artist combine elements of eighteenth-century classicism, nineteenth-century photography, and modern photo-realism."
Mark Alexander (b. 1966) graduated from Oxford University in 1996. His work has been shown at galleries in London and Berlin and notable group shows include "I am a Camera" at Saatchi Gallery, London, and "Painting on the Move" at the Kunsthalle in Basel. His work included in important private collections worldwide, including the Rubell Family Collection and the Collection of Sir Evelyn and Lady de Rothschild.
Video Part 1
Video Part 2
Inquiries: info@moss-gallery.com
MARK ALEXANDER CV
