Bidding on this item has ended.
Mark Francis
PASSAGE (2)
Lot 40
Price Realised:
€15,000
Estimate:
€15,000 - €20,000
Mark Francis, b.1962
PASSAGE (2)
Oil on canvas, 76 1/4" x 76 1/4" (193.5 x 193.5cm), signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam;
Private Collection; Sale: Christie's, London,?P... Read more
Lot 40
Mark Francis
PASSAGE (2)
PASSAGE (2)
Oil on canvas, 76 1/4" x 76 1/4" (193.5 x 193.5cm), signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam;
Private Collection; Sale: Christie's, London,?P... Read more
Lot 40
Mark Francis
PASSAGE (2)
Estimate:
€15,000 - €20,000
Mark Francis, b.1962
PASSAGE (2)
Oil on canvas, 76 1/4" x 76 1/4" (193.5 x 193.5cm), signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam;
Private Collection; Sale: Christie's, London,?Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale, 24 June 2005, lot 295; Acquired directly from the above by the previous owner; Private Collection.
Exhibited: London, Maureen Paley/Interim Art,?Mark Francis, 1994, pp. 12-13.
Born in Newtonards, Northern Ireland, Mark Francis had a natural interest in botany and the natural world which led him in the early 1990s to create paintings inspired by the biological and botanical images newly revealed by the electron microscope. His use of biological elements like spores and sperm became the blurred starting points for abstract compositions that are hymns to the fundamentals of creation.
Paintings like Passage (2), based on spermatozoa, are only superficially photographic. The artist creates a luminescent monochrome world where forms undulate and dance within a grid that is hardly perceptible. His use of the grid creates a lively dynamic between the notion of order and apparent disorder. The liquid rhythm of this painting, its sense of perpetual motion and vibration, continues to be a key strength of the artist's work.
The scientific imagery in Francis's paintings have variously been described as particularly resonant in an age of genetic engineering, biological warfare, of HIV and other viral threats. However, early pieces like this one have a gentle lyricism, quivering and reverberating with life.
Dr Frances Ruane HRHA
October 2021
PASSAGE (2)
Oil on canvas, 76 1/4" x 76 1/4" (193.5 x 193.5cm), signed and inscribed verso.
Provenance: Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London; Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam;
Private Collection; Sale: Christie's, London,?Post-War & Contemporary Art Day Sale, 24 June 2005, lot 295; Acquired directly from the above by the previous owner; Private Collection.
Exhibited: London, Maureen Paley/Interim Art,?Mark Francis, 1994, pp. 12-13.
Born in Newtonards, Northern Ireland, Mark Francis had a natural interest in botany and the natural world which led him in the early 1990s to create paintings inspired by the biological and botanical images newly revealed by the electron microscope. His use of biological elements like spores and sperm became the blurred starting points for abstract compositions that are hymns to the fundamentals of creation.
Paintings like Passage (2), based on spermatozoa, are only superficially photographic. The artist creates a luminescent monochrome world where forms undulate and dance within a grid that is hardly perceptible. His use of the grid creates a lively dynamic between the notion of order and apparent disorder. The liquid rhythm of this painting, its sense of perpetual motion and vibration, continues to be a key strength of the artist's work.
The scientific imagery in Francis's paintings have variously been described as particularly resonant in an age of genetic engineering, biological warfare, of HIV and other viral threats. However, early pieces like this one have a gentle lyricism, quivering and reverberating with life.
Dr Frances Ruane HRHA
October 2021
- Enquire
- View all lots by this artist
- How bidding works
Please note: You will require a deVeres account in order to bid. Please register via the website. Each lot will close numerically. If there is late bidding the time may be extended which could delay subsequent lots. The lots will start to close from 2.00pm on auction day, closing at 45 second intervals.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
PLEASE BID EARLY TO AVOID DISAPPOINTMENT.
In order to allow rival bidders the opportunity to respond to a late bid the following extensions will apply:
IF A BID IS RECEIVED WITHIN THE FINAL 45 SECONDS OF THE COUNTDOWN THE CLOCK WILL RESET TO 60 SECONDS.
At any point you can leave a maximum bid, representing the highest price you are prepared to pay for a particular lot. Bidding only advances when there is competition from a rival bidder. In that case the system bids on your behalf, only up to the maximum if required. All bids are relayed to you be email, along with notification if you have been outbid.
All maximum bids are confidential and not disclosed. The system will endeavor to purchase the lot for you for the least price. Bids are subject to buyer’s premium of 25% (incl vat), with no additional charges.
In the event of a tied bid, the preference will be given to the bid submitted first. The second bidder will receive immediate notification of being outbid.
Sign-up to our auction alert
Signup for personalised Irish art recommendations, invitations to viewings and auctions, articles and more.