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Mark Alexander (painter)
Encyclopedia
Mark Alexander is a contemporary British artist.
, West Sussex
, Alexander came to painting relatively late, receiving his BFA
from Oxford University as a mature student in 1996, despite his lack of formal education or training.
, Van Gogh's famous portrait of the French physician Paul Gachet
, and ruined statues of saints in New College
, Oxford. Alexander's painstaking technique, requiring many months to complete a single work, has attracted both praise and befuddlement from critics. ‘Mark Alexander’, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, ‘cuts an enigmatic figure in the art world, attracting the interest of some of its most influential collectors. He has produced only twenty-two paintings since his career began in 1993. This is due not to idleness but to a sort of manic fastidiousness.’ ‘The works of this self-taught artist combine elements of eighteenth-century classicism, nineteenth-century photography, and modern photo-realism.’
Alexander's portraits include ones of the contemporary British poet Craig Raine
and the celebrated English architect Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
. His recent copies of Van Gogh's notorious Portrait of Dr Gachet, in which he has siphoned off all of the colour of the original, replacing it with heavy black pigment, caused considerable controversy when exhibited in London in 2005.
More recently Alexander's Red Mannheim altarpieces have been included in the 2010 St Paul's cathedral art programme along with Gormley, Hirst, Viola and others.
Biography
Born in the small market town of HorshamHorsham
Horsham is a market town with a population of 55,657 on the upper reaches of the River Arun in the centre of the Weald, West Sussex, in the historic County of Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester...
, West Sussex
West Sussex
West Sussex is a county in the south of England, bordering onto East Sussex , Hampshire and Surrey. The county of Sussex has been divided into East and West since the 12th century, and obtained separate county councils in 1888, but it remained a single ceremonial county until 1974 and the coming...
, Alexander came to painting relatively late, receiving his BFA
Bachelor of Fine Arts
In the United States and Canada, the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, usually abbreviated BFA, is the standard undergraduate degree for students seeking a professional education in the visual or performing arts. In some countries such a degree is called a Bachelor of Creative Arts or BCA...
from Oxford University as a mature student in 1996, despite his lack of formal education or training.
Style and works
Alexander's style is characterised by meticulous labour-intensive brushwork. His art often reinvents the icons of the past, recasting such well-known cultural objects as the Shield of AchillesShield of Achilles
The Shield of Achilles is the shield that Achilles uses to fight Hector, famously described in a passage in Book 18, lines 478-608 of Homer's Iliad....
, Van Gogh's famous portrait of the French physician Paul Gachet
Paul Gachet
Paul-Ferdinand Gachet was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement...
, and ruined statues of saints in New College
New College, Oxford
New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.- Overview :The College's official name, College of St Mary, is the same as that of the older Oriel College; hence, it has been referred to as the "New College of St Mary", and is now almost always...
, Oxford. Alexander's painstaking technique, requiring many months to complete a single work, has attracted both praise and befuddlement from critics. ‘Mark Alexander’, according to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, ‘cuts an enigmatic figure in the art world, attracting the interest of some of its most influential collectors. He has produced only twenty-two paintings since his career began in 1993. This is due not to idleness but to a sort of manic fastidiousness.’ ‘The works of this self-taught artist combine elements of eighteenth-century classicism, nineteenth-century photography, and modern photo-realism.’
Alexander's portraits include ones of the contemporary British poet Craig Raine
Craig Raine
Craig Raine is an English poet and critic born in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. Along with Christopher Reid, he is the best-known exponent of Martian poetry.-Life:...
and the celebrated English architect Sir Thomas Graham Jackson
Thomas Graham Jackson
Sir Thomas Graham Jackson, 1st Baronet RA was one of the most distinguished English architects of his generation...
. His recent copies of Van Gogh's notorious Portrait of Dr Gachet, in which he has siphoned off all of the colour of the original, replacing it with heavy black pigment, caused considerable controversy when exhibited in London in 2005.
More recently Alexander's Red Mannheim altarpieces have been included in the 2010 St Paul's cathedral art programme along with Gormley, Hirst, Viola and others.
Exhibitions
2010 Red Mannheim (St. Paul's Cathedral), London- 2009 The Blacker Gold (Haunch of VenisonHaunch of VenisonHaunch of Venison is a commercial art gallery founded in 2002 in the West End of London. The gallery represents leading contemporary artists with branches in London, Berlin and New York.-History:...
Gallery), Berlin - 2005 The Bigger Victory: Retrospective (Haunch of VenisonHaunch of VenisonHaunch of Venison is a commercial art gallery founded in 2002 in the West End of London. The gallery represents leading contemporary artists with branches in London, Berlin and New York.-History:...
Gallery), London - 2002 The Galleries Show (The Royal Academy of Art, London)
- 2002 On the Move (KunsthalleKunsthalle BaselSince opening in 1872, Kunsthalle Basel has examined various positions concerning contemporary art. This renowned exhibition space in the Swiss city of Basel has a very long tradition of supporting avant-garde artists and expanding the accepted boundaries of contemporary art. Contemporary art...
, Basel) - 2001 I am a Camera (Saatchi GallerySaatchi GalleryThe Saatchi Gallery is a London gallery for contemporary art, opened by Charles Saatchi in 1985 in order to exhibit his collection to the public. It has occupied different premises, first in North London, then the South Bank by the River Thames and currently in Chelsea. Saatchi's collection, and...
, London) - 2001 The Abhorrence of Virtue and the Love of Vice (Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London)
- 1999 Ozymandias (Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London)