Since the 1990s, Marcel Dzama has belonged to the most sought-after representatives of contemporary art in Canada. The draughtsman, filmmaker and object artist employs his unmistakable visual language to fathom the diverse, often hidden connections between reality and the subconscious.
(...) Continue readingMarcel Dzama - International success with ink and watercolour drawings
Marcel Dzama was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1974. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with First Class Honours from the university in his hometown in 1997, and just one year later, David Zwirner - German-American gallery owner and son of the respected art dealer and curator Rudolf Zwirner - presented the young Canadian's first works to the public. Marcel Dzama continued his fruitful collaboration with the David Zwirner Gallery in the further course of his successful career, later joined in Germany by the Düsseldorf gallery Sies + Höke. In 1996, while still a student, Dzama was one of the founders of the artist group The Royal Art Lodge in his native Winnipeg, to which he remained loyal as a successful solo artist until its dissolution in 2008. In 2013, Dzama had his first exhibition in London, entitled Puppets, Pawns, and Prophets, and has received international acclaim for his ink and watercolour drawings.
Inspiration from Dadaism, Surrealism and fairy tales
In his generally small-format paintings, Marcel Dzama combines elements of reality with dreamlike influences, fed by the ideas of the Surrealists and Dadaists. Above all, however, it is the classic fairy tales to which Dzama owes a large part of his inspiration. In 2016, Marcel Dzama created the set and costumes for the New York performance of the fairytale ballet The Most Incredible Thing based on Hans Christian Andersen. Theatre and film inspire the artist, who also has a strong affinity with the music scene: His work has adorned the covers of numerous music albums, including the titles Reconstruction Site by The Weakerthans, Guero by Beck and The Else by They Might Be Giants. Dzama has also created costume designs for music videos and designed the cover for the 2005 book Ugly Feelings by literary critic Sianne Ngai. In 2010, composer Ed Bennett was inspired by Marcel Dzama's art for his composition Dzama Stories, whilst Dzama worked with director Spike Jonze on the film Sad Ghost.
Monster trees and animal people; art and commerce
Marcel Dzama's art oscillates between dreamy childhood memories and profound philosophy. His internationally acclaimed exhibition activities even took him as far as China in 2019, where he was able to present his works in Hong Kong. Dzama's cinematic and graphic work is not without its provocations: His worlds do not show the fairytale idyll of the stories, but rather the dark aspects, which he places in new contexts with a great sense of black humour, dark abysmality and sometimes drastic brutality. Among the collectors of Marcel Dzama's works are well-known public figures, including actors Jim Carrey, Steve Martin, Viggo Mortensen and Leonard Nimoy. Dzama masters the difficult balancing act between art and commerce with great ease, always succeeding in creating a fruitful exchange between the two opposing worlds.
Marcel Dzama lives and works mostly in New York.
Marcel Dzama - Works that have already been sold at Kunsthaus Lempertz:
