Marc Bijl
13 Apr - 13 May 2006
MARC BIJL
"Indy Structures"
13 April to 13 May 06
Private View: Thursday 13 March 8pm.
THE BREEDER is pleased to present the second solo exhibition by Dutch artist Marc Bijl, in Athens. In his practice he has shown a predominant interest in social structures and the mis-use of slogans, logo's, symbols and code's. Additionally, his counter - cultural video performances and illegal interventions play with our perception of what takes place in public spaces while his installations and objects are icons of temporarily fanaticism which can lead to nationalism, terrorism, religious extremism and finally death.
According to Marc Bijl, human nature is attracted to these simplified methods of structuring, i.e. logo's, symbols, political slogans, prayers, or even advertisements, much more than it actually needs the power and freedom to denounce them. In Seven Stages of Life he re-examines our need, as human beings, for certain forms of structure in our lives, especially when even our lives are a structure in the biological sense. With this attempt we witness a hidden romantic desire, from his part, to understand the world we live in. Simultaneously, with this new body of work he takes a turn towards the lingering 'structure' beneath any given 'flag' or 'symbol' and how that functions without its logo, in a more abstract form or even without a clear statement, as seen here in the piece Protected/Security.
Within Indy Structures we see Bijl making a new statement, which instead of representing a 'protest' or a social structure, this time portrays a romantic form of 'independency' including all its contradictions. In the piece entitled Individual he questions the notion of sovereignty and the possibility for a group of people who declare independency for a reason, to still remain autonomous individuals. And continuous by wondering if they do not become part of the groups’ mechanisms, themselves? Independency has an aura of objectivity and freedom, and yet independency is loneliness... freedom is a dream....
There are three layers to Marc Bijl’s work. He uses personal and art-historical references, as well as political/sociological events that influence our daily lives. All of which are 'simplified messages' just like the advertisements, the branding logo's and the religious symbols around us, which shape and form our society.
Recent Solo and Group Exhibitions include: Dark, Boijmans Museum curated by Jan Grosfeld and Rein Wolfs, Rotterdam
'Afterhours', GEM, the museum of contemporary art, The Hague; 'I Love My Scene' Mary Boone Gallery New York curated by Jose Freire, 'Youth of Today' Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 'The Image is Gone', Gallery Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, 'Low Intensity Conflict' Swiss Institute, New York, 2006; 'First we take museums' KIASMA, Helsinki, 'Superstars' Kunstforum Vienna, 'Leaps of Faith', UN Green zone Cyprus, curated by Katerina Gregos, 'Emergencies, MUSAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, 'Populism', National Museum of Art, Oslo / Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius / Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 'On Patrol, De Appel, Amsterdam, 'Festival of Dreams (part 2) ' curated by James Fuentes, Lombard Freid Fine Arts, New York
For further information, please contact Zana Kontomanoli.
"Indy Structures"
13 April to 13 May 06
Private View: Thursday 13 March 8pm.
THE BREEDER is pleased to present the second solo exhibition by Dutch artist Marc Bijl, in Athens. In his practice he has shown a predominant interest in social structures and the mis-use of slogans, logo's, symbols and code's. Additionally, his counter - cultural video performances and illegal interventions play with our perception of what takes place in public spaces while his installations and objects are icons of temporarily fanaticism which can lead to nationalism, terrorism, religious extremism and finally death.
According to Marc Bijl, human nature is attracted to these simplified methods of structuring, i.e. logo's, symbols, political slogans, prayers, or even advertisements, much more than it actually needs the power and freedom to denounce them. In Seven Stages of Life he re-examines our need, as human beings, for certain forms of structure in our lives, especially when even our lives are a structure in the biological sense. With this attempt we witness a hidden romantic desire, from his part, to understand the world we live in. Simultaneously, with this new body of work he takes a turn towards the lingering 'structure' beneath any given 'flag' or 'symbol' and how that functions without its logo, in a more abstract form or even without a clear statement, as seen here in the piece Protected/Security.
Within Indy Structures we see Bijl making a new statement, which instead of representing a 'protest' or a social structure, this time portrays a romantic form of 'independency' including all its contradictions. In the piece entitled Individual he questions the notion of sovereignty and the possibility for a group of people who declare independency for a reason, to still remain autonomous individuals. And continuous by wondering if they do not become part of the groups’ mechanisms, themselves? Independency has an aura of objectivity and freedom, and yet independency is loneliness... freedom is a dream....
There are three layers to Marc Bijl’s work. He uses personal and art-historical references, as well as political/sociological events that influence our daily lives. All of which are 'simplified messages' just like the advertisements, the branding logo's and the religious symbols around us, which shape and form our society.
Recent Solo and Group Exhibitions include: Dark, Boijmans Museum curated by Jan Grosfeld and Rein Wolfs, Rotterdam
'Afterhours', GEM, the museum of contemporary art, The Hague; 'I Love My Scene' Mary Boone Gallery New York curated by Jose Freire, 'Youth of Today' Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 'The Image is Gone', Gallery Lisa Ruyter, Vienna, 'Low Intensity Conflict' Swiss Institute, New York, 2006; 'First we take museums' KIASMA, Helsinki, 'Superstars' Kunstforum Vienna, 'Leaps of Faith', UN Green zone Cyprus, curated by Katerina Gregos, 'Emergencies, MUSAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, 'Populism', National Museum of Art, Oslo / Contemporary Art Centre, Vilnius / Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt / Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, 'On Patrol, De Appel, Amsterdam, 'Festival of Dreams (part 2) ' curated by James Fuentes, Lombard Freid Fine Arts, New York
For further information, please contact Zana Kontomanoli.