With his unmistakable version of contemporary Surrealism, as comical as it is otherworldly, Marcel Dzama is one of Canada's most internationally successful artists.
As with most of Dzama's work, this image offers a cacophony of visual information with no clear explanation of what is occurring. While the figures, creatures, and elements of this scene are arranged in a singular grouping, different storylines are unfolding simultaneously.
In "Critiques Dard," several scenes are arranged on, in, above, and below a central mass. A cowboy standing at attention, a slithering snake, two bearded men tying a boy to a chair, a naked woman with a sharp bob holding a cat, a vampire-looking caped figure, and several animal-human hybrids are all included in this cast of characters. The two-toned grey shape anchors the composition, and allows for some stillness among the frenzy of happenings that surround it.
Little numbers are scattered throughout the composition evoke a narrative sequence, but one that is nonsensical and impossible to follow. This is a unique work on paper for Dzama as it's executed in four panels. The segmented nature of the work echoes the folds and sections of the grey shape at its centre.
Despite the shrouded meaning behind the scene, Dzama has managed to orchestrate a visually balanced image. While the sense of a curious incompleteness may seem limiting, it's truly one of the most compelling aspects of Dzama's oeuvre. Evoking the same effects as incomplete storyboards or figurative Rorschach tests, his carefully composed images invite viewers to engage imaginatively--encouraging the weaving together of the "befores" and "afters" that surround the "nows" that each piece offers.
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 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 MusĂ©e dâart contemporain de MontrĂ©al. 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.
"Critiques Dard"
Canada, 2007
Four-part drawing: Ink and watercolor on paper
Signed and dated, verso (each panel)
31.75"H 21.5"W (framed)
Very good condition.
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