Marcel Dzama: Drawing on a Revolution

La Casa Encendida of Fundación Montemadrid is pleased to present Drawing on a Revolution featuring the work of Marcel Dzama (Winnipeg, Canada, 1974), a total immersion in the creative universe of one of the most prominent artists on the contemporary scene.

The exhibition will offer spanish audiences their first glimpse of Dzama’s recent work on the theme of revolution, in which his art actively responds to the current political scenario. The majority of the pieces are accompanied by texts or quotes that serve as thought-provoking manifestos or slogans, encouraging us to reflect on contemporary society and its inherent problems, in the United States and the rest of the world.

In the exhibition, this contemporary socio-political interrogation coexists with Dzama’s familiar world of fables and intricate narratives, where his use of masquerade, irony, disguise and characterisation directs us to a singular universe, a place filled with life and death, music, peace and violence. From the earliest drawings in his famous muted palette of browns and greens, Dzama has defined a repertoire of images in which figures borrowed from fairy tales, comics or television wander aimlessly, mingling with 19th-century soldiers, 20th century terrorists, imaginary animals, ballet dancers and opera singers.

Marcel Dzama’s creative universe is informed by countless precedents and influences, including Goya, Marcel Duchamp, Dada, Picabia and Bosch. In recent years his field of action has expanded thanks to collaborations with artists working in other disciplines. Though best known as a prolific draughtsman, lately his focus has shifted to the three-dimensional realm, exploring the possibilities of sculpture, dioramas, scale models, set design and film.