Like most children, the story of Pompeii and Herculaneum held and still holds a fascination for me. An ancient world suspended in time, reawakened after two millennia of silence and hiddenness. The gulf of time traversed. Everyday life, beauty and ordinariness, the routine and the epic preserved together. Universal gestures of terror and resignation, love and consolation. I wanted “A Great Gulf” to evoke something of these ideas.
-Mark Shields, 2021
We are delighted to be showing Mark Shields' iconic painting 'A Great Gulf Fixed' in our online viewing room this month. Mark takes us on a journey, exploring in depth the historical influences, modern symbolism and painting techniques behind this monumental work. There is also an opportunity to view some rare, behind the scenes footage of Mark painting in his studio.
Click HERE to access our online viewing room.
Click HERE to access 'A Life in Art' Podcast interview with Mark Shields and Feargal O'Malley