Shield of Achilles

Mark Alexander has long been fascinated by what he calls ‘the Primitive Gaze’ – seemingly blank and unaffected, such as those seen on the statues of Easter Island, Minoan masks, and the artist’s face in Warhol’s late self-portrait.

"Blazing to enormous size, these beaming medallions conjure luminously the classical conflicts of Homer while all the while glinting ambiguously with the uncertainty of the future. As if embodying Augustine’s troubled concept of history in which time present and time past are both present in time future, Alexander’s shields at once absorb and reflect the unfathomable proportions of our age." Kelly Grovier

Exhibited:

Blacker Gold, solo exhibition, Haunch of Venison gallery, Berlin

Reflections on The Shield of Achilles by Andrew Graham-Dixon

Betrachtungen über den Schild des Achilles (German translation)

Shield of Achilles I

  • Oil on Canvas
  • 220 cm in diameter
  • 2008

Shield of Achilles II

Shield of Achilles III

Shield of Achilles IV

Shield of Achilles V

Shield of Achilles VI

Shield of Achilles VII

Shield of Achilles VIII

Shield of Achilles IX

Shield of Achilles XX

Shield of Achilles XI

Shield of Achilles XII

  • Oil on Canvas
  • Dia 220 cm
  • 2008