Mike Quirke shows new works in Mayfair exhibition

Blessed Carlo Acutis - new monoprint by Mike Quirke

Noted for his religious iconography, Catholic artist Mike Quirke presented a new style in a London, Mayfair exhibition. Forty two black and white monochrome prints together with ten hung coloured pictures of saints were recently featured at 54,The Gallery, Shepherd's Market.

Several pictures resembled stained glass windows, predominately in one colour. They were all completed this year and Quirke was delighted when the opportunity came to show them alongside other artists works on the theme 'Times Like These'.

Mike had been self isolating due to his children contracting Covid 19 and had to work from home rather than his Wapping Studio.

"I wanted to try something new, a different medium, more accessible to people," he said.

Quirke's works - portraits and his noted icons normally fetch thousands. These charming depictions sell at £42 for the black ink monographs and £65 for the tinted stained glass types and £85 for more detailed subjects.

Motivated by a passage in the Didache, an important first century Christian text, "And you will seek every day the faces of the saints in order that you may rest upon their words," he has portrayed each saint from the liturgical calendar since April.

20th century inspirational writers such as GK Chesterton and Dorothy Day, are amongst the black and white monochrome portraits, alongside canonised saints. He has also included heroic non Catholic Christians such as CS Lewis and Dietrich Bonhoefer.

He wanted to depict some modern saints such as his representations of St Josephine Bhakita, Maximilian Kolbe, St Oscar Romero Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta and St John Henry Newman. Through his art Quirke wants to make saints such as Chinese soldier St Augustine Zhao Rong who became a priest, was martyred in 1815, and canonised in 2000 more familiar.

The artist was particularly keen to show me his two Monochrome portraits of 15 year old Blessed Carlo Acutis, the London born Italian beatified last year , whose patronage is the internet. These capture his youthful enthusiasm.

A central figure, displayed in the window, and larger than his other portraits was of Mary Magdalene, holding her attribute of a covered jar of ointment on a stained-glass window background. Another beautiful representation is that of St Audrey, better known as St Etheldreda , in the same medium, in a tinted stained- glass image.

"It's the first time I've used such imaging," he said. Another unique example is a delightfully tender depiction Our Lady of Mount Carmel on a white block Images of St Therese and St Edith Stein are particularly effective in black and white monochrome. Therese is clutching a large book of the Gospels - she always kept a small copy under her habit close to her heart, and representative of her proclamation as a Doctor of the Church since 1997. Edith, a patron of Europe, is seen in Carmelite habit peering through concentration camp wire. She was martyred at Auschwitz in 1942.

Mike has also experimented in drawing in the style of Holbein and Van Gogh, including a monoprint of St Thomas More After Holbein, on a red coloured ground and The Sower After Van Gogh, in shades of green. The latter taking its theme from the Parable in Matthew's Gospel. Representations of the Holy Spirit and Our Lady of Tenderness in coloured monographs are more familiar themes associated with Quirke that are part of this new collection.

Mike Quirke is busy working on a panel for a new reredos as part of a three year project marking the 150th anniversary on 8th December of The Guardian Angels Roman Catholic Church, in London's Mile End. The central panel will be of the Resurrected Christ surrounded by angels and the symbols of the four apostles . The draft drawing he showed me is stunning in Quirke's typical iconic style.

Mike Quirke's monochrome prints and other works can be viewed on: www.mikequirke.com/home/recent-work/