Altars: Love Under Will

Mark Metcalfe

Mark Metcalfe is a British artist and printmaker based in London, United Kingdom. His work pays homage to classical influences, particularly Goya’s relationship with the Duchess of Alba, with whom he shared a penchant for capturing one of the many facets of femininity: delicacy. His reverence for the draperies, frills, and bows, meticulously rendered in his works, speaks to the enduring question of how femininity can be depicted in art. Altars: Love Under Will meditates on this archetypal mystery, exploring how these old themes are continually addressed in contemporary figurative painting.

In his new series, Mark Metcalfe draws inspiration from an ongoing fascination with Jungian archetypes and the sacred feminine. ‘Altars: Love Under Will’ delves into the connections between historical figurative art and the enduring symbols that seek to capture femininity, power, and mysticism.

She Points & Studs the Night with Stars

Each of Mark Metcalfe's works embodies familiar archetypes, dramas of grace, religious iconography, binaries of good and evil, and recognizable emblems. In this new series, the piece She Points & Studs the Night with Stars depicts a female figure wearing a black lace veil, with two rings on her fingers. This portrayal resonates with the figure in Francisco Goya's renowned painting The Duchess of Alba. The resemblance goes beyond visual elements, subtly suggesting a deeper thematic and emotional connection between the two works.

In Metcalfe's painting, the black veil is not only an allegorical symbol but also imbues the female figure with an aura of mystery and sorrow. The veil shrouds her face like the night, symbolizing perhaps a form of mourning, a hidden identity, or an indescribable power. The woman gazes upward, her hands crossed and pointing towards the sky, with long black nails evoking the mystique of witchcraft rituals, as if she is appealing to a higher power for assistance or revelation. This portrayal is reminiscent of the saintly figures in medieval religious paintings, or perhaps a metaphor for certain occult practices, embodying a spiritual pursuit that transcends reality.

Notably, a blue downward-pointing triangle appears in the upper right corner of the painting, a symbol of "water" in alchemy. In the alchemical symbolic system, water is one of the fundamental elements, representing the flow and nurturing of all life on Earth. It also embodies feminine qualities of unity, creation, and unfolding. In this painting, the combination of the water symbol with the wheel symbol, which signifies the circulating process, further conveys the artwork’s exploration of a mysterious force beyond the individual, as well as the profound connection between nature and life, hinting at the maternal essence of the natural world and the cyclical rhythm of existence.

Elements in the Painting

The exhibition features five elemental paintings, each representing the fundamental forces of Fire, Air, Water, Earth, and Spirit. These pieces, displayed in the gallery’s lounge area, evoke a rich esoteric quality, inviting the viewer to reflect on the metaphysical connections between the elements and the human experience. Metcalfe's symbolic approach infuses the works with a sense of ritualistic meaning, grounding his art in both the mystical and the material.

Item added to cart

Mark Metcalfe