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"The title of the painting is taken from a biblical parable in which the experiences of a rich man and a beggar are reversed in the afterlife, the gulf between them being that which allows no relief of the rich man’s suffering from the beggar’s side. But the painting does not explore this story. If it retains a link, it is that any significant change of perspective or belief often necessitates a death or sacrifice of some kind."
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Mark Shields b. 1963
A Great Gulf Fixed, 2011
Signed on the reverse
Acrylic on canvas
183 x 305 cm
72 1/8 x 120 1/8 inExhibited:
The Broken and Scattered God, Dickon Hall Ltd, Belfast, 201120/21 British Art Fair, Grosvenor Gallery, 12-16th September 2012, London
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"The painting’s more explicit context is that of the excavated remains of Pompeii and Herculaneum. An ancient world suspended in time, reawakened after two millennia of silence and hiddenness. Everyday life, beauty and ordinariness, the routine and the epic preserved together. I wanted “A Great Gulf” to evoke something of these ideas."
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"The structure of “Gulf” owes something of its frieze- like, linear presentation to the wall paintings of Pompeii. Reading left to right, one moves from the more literal toward the mystical through a kind of sleep/death/hidden realm, a nod to the ritual images of the Villa of the Mysteries. Maybe a kind of initiation/baptism is taking place."
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A selection of ink drawings and preparatory studies for the painting
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IN THE VIDEO ABOVE, Mark delveS deeper into the deptHs of the painting, EXPLORING the historical influences, modern symbolism and painting techniques
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A timeline of the painting's progression
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Biography
Mark Shields is a leading artist of his generation. Mark was born in 1963 and studied at the University of Ulster where he completed a BA in Fine Art and a PGCE in Art and Design. He is represented by the Grosvenor Gallery, London and currently lives and works near Belfast.
Mark has exhibited at such places as the Mall Galleries, the Royal Academy of Arts, the Royal Ulster Academy and the National Gallery of Ireland. Additionally, his paintings have featured in international events as the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art, Galerie Brusberg in Berlin, and the Basel Art Fair in Switzerland. Mark has participated several times in the BP Portrait Award and the Hunting Art Prize Exhibition at the Royal College of Art. His works can be found in numerous collections including the Arts Council for Northern Ireland, the Ulster Television Collection, the National Self-Portrait Collection of Ireland, as well as many private collections in both the U.K and abroad, and his commissioned portrait of the Prince of Wales hangs in the headquarters of the Royal Gurka Regiment. -
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A LIFE IN ART
INTERVIEW WITH MARK SHIELDS AND FEARGAL O'MALLEY -
Previous Exhibitions at the Gallery
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Landscape
Shibu Natesan, Tobit Roche & Mark Shields 6 March - 24 April 2020 'Landscape' brings together three well established artists. Their remit for the show was to produce some landscapes. Each artist has their own perspective: Shibu Natesan (b. 1966) is from Kerala... -
Mark Shields - The Inaccessible Land
F E McWilliam Gallery 2 March - 7 May 2018 MARK SHIELDS - THE INACCESSIBLE LAND F E McWILLIAM GALLERY 1 March -19 May 2018 'The Inaccessible Land' comprises a selection of Shields' work made over the last 4 years,... -
Host
Recent Paintings by MARK SHIELDS 14 February - 7 March 2014 Grosvenor Gallery and Browse & Darby are pleased to announce the opening of Host, an important solo exhibition of 99 paintings by Mark Shields. The preview is on Thursday 13th... -
Mark Shields, Here and Elsewhere
21 April - 14 May 2010 MARK SHIELDS: HERE AND ELSEWHERE Grosvenor Gallery is proud to announce the exhibition of recent paintings by Mark Shields, entitled Here and Elsewhere. Working within the confines of... -
Colloquy
Mark Shields 3 - 20 December 2008 Grosvenor Gallery is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of painter Mark Shields. Shields is an artist who for two decades has been consistently committed to making serious and thought-provoking... -
Paintings and Drawings
Mark Shields 20 April - 13 May 2005 -
Pilgrimage: 40 Small Paintings
24 September - 17 October 2003 -
Inhabitants of the Dream Courtyard
25 April - 24 May 2001 -
Mark Shields
Recent Works 9 - 30 November 1998 -
Mark Shields
Recent Works 8 - 31 March 1997
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A Great Gulf Fixed, 2011: A Painting by Mark shields
Past viewing_room