With his unmistakable version of contemporary Surrealism, as comical as it is otherworldly, Marcel Dzama is one of Canada's most internationally successful artists.
Born in Winnipeg in 1974, Dzama would begin exhibiting internationally just a year after graduating from the University of Manitoba with early champions of his work including Jim Carrey and Nicholas Cage.
In the 1990's, as one of the founding members of the Royal Art Lodge, Dzama contributed to the renaissance of figurative art and simultaneously put Winnipeg on the map as a center for Canadian creativity.
Dzama's works are instantly recognizable for their subject and style. He draws as much from the visual language of folk art as he does from the art historical. His images dance right on the edge of our familiarity, often evoking the feeling of leafing through a child's picture book and stoping at random to examine a page.
This piece plays on a common motif for Dzama: The Cowboy. Often serving as an avatar for wanton violence and brash machismo, this cowboy is set in a different tone. There is a disquiet to the figure in this scene; Is buried from the neck down? Staring solemnly at the anthill in front of him, resigned to his fate? Or does he occupy the foreground? The bag around his body representing the classic self-possession of a Western hero, unconcerned with the coming and goings of the anthill. As always, Dzama's talent lies in crafting images worth a thousand words.
Dzama's work can be found in a host of prestigious public and private collections including Paris' Centre Georges Pompidou, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the MoMA, Le Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. He is particularly favored by celebrity collectors including Brad Pitt, Jim Carrey and Steve Martin.
Questions about this artwork? Email us, call +1.416.704.1720, or visit our Toronto gallery.
Untitled (Self-Possession)
Canada, 1998
Ink and mixed-media on paper
Signed by the artist
12.5"H & 10"W (sheet)
14.5"H 12"W (framed)
Very good condition.
Note: This work is from Dzama's first show in LA at Richard Heller Gallery in 1998, consisting of 500 drawings of this size and style.
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