Cronus – The Steel Clock

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‘Cronus’ is the latest creation in a series of Iron Clocks produced by Mark Avis. Standing at over seven feet, ‘Cronus’ is Mark’s most ambitious sculpture to date.

As Mark himself admits ‘this has been my most challenging creation yet – the contrast between the fractured sides of the clock and the soft, melting effect, was a completely new idea that I wanted to convey’.

To achieve this dramatic sense of fluidity and fragmentation, Mark spent hours layering and re-shaping the material, to create the distinctive soft and brittle effects. His aim was to portray the illusion of movement, encompassing the pull of gravity and the pressure of time simultaneously.

On close inspection, you can see the form of a woman in motion, whose body is beginning to melt as the force of time descends from above. Diametrically opposed to this are fissures on the other side of the clock, emphasising the disintegrating nature of time and the transient nature of life.

Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this particular piece is what Mark refers to as the ‘negative volume in the trunk of the sculpture’. This void reinforces the texture and depth of the main body of the sculpture, and yet paradoxically, it emphasises the fragility that can embody a work of art made of steel.

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1 comment for this entry:
  1. SM Bournemouth
    April 1st, 2009 on 10:16 am

    ‘The best piece in the whole exhibition by far’
    (SM, Bournemouth at House and Garden Show)

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Time is an Abstract Concept

Born in 1966, Mark is a contemporary artist, based in Newark, Nottinghamshire, who designs inspirational clocks made from steel. Influenced by Gaudi and Spanish surrealist, Dali, Mark began to conceive an image of a melting clock, created from iron, but sculpted to large proportions. His first Iron Clock in the series, known as 'Gaia', was completed nearly four years ago.

Mark has produced a series of six sculptures to date, which have attracted tremendous interest and critical acclaim. Each sculpture is original, shaped with distinctive markings that, when viewed as a whole, represent what Mark refers to as 'a human form fitting the proportions of people'.

With each Iron Clock, Mark has distorted the notion of time by creating an incredible melting effect that is both visually arresting and technically superb. As the series has progressed, Mark's artistic vision has become increasingly complex, inviting different interpretations as more intricate detail is added. This creates additional depth and dimension to each new sculpture, that further disrupts our traditional concept of time as each Iron Clock tells its own individual story.

Fragmentation contrasts sharply with fluidity in his latest creation 'Cronus', where the juxtaposition of time and nature are beautifully realised.

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