Marcel van Eeden
Encyclopedia
Marcel van Eeden is a Dutch
draftsman and painter. From 1989 to 1993 van Eeden studied painting at the Royal Academy of Art
in The Hague. Van Eeden lives and works in Zurich
and The Hague. Characteristically, van Eeden's work is reminiscent of the film-noir period, of almost photo-realistic depictions and he manipulates the use of the black and white contrast. A wider audience was introduced to his work after his contribution to the Berlin Biennale in 2006.
. In 2007, he concluded the blog and returned for the first time since his studies to painting, however he does continue to draw. Van Eeden's paintings, as well as his drawings, utilise a variety of templates, which are all taken from the years before his date of birth, 1965. Van Eeden calls this project "The Encyclopedia of my Death". The templates include photographs, exhibition catalogues, newspaper clippings, magazines and illustrations or even cloth patterns. Many of the works show nocturnal urban scenes, fires, abstract shapes and patterns as well as short excerpts of stencilled texts. By focussing on the virtually infinite time span before his birth, van Eeden accepts his own existence as a merely insignificant part of a genuine time stream and discards the finiteness of his own existence.
Van Eeden assembles both his paintings and drawings in the same manner; in both mediums, he pursues a picturesque approach and focuses more on the images' grey tonal composition rather than the line. In this respect, he compares his work to the pastel chalk drawings of Edgar Degas
.
In 2004/2005 van Eeden began to group his drawings together to form different sized series. This was inspired, amongst other things, by Robert Walser
's „Spaziergang“ text which extended over a collection of drawings or constantly recurring characters.
The first great series to emerge from this modus was the 150 piece series „K. M. Wiegand. Life and Work“, 2006. K. M. Wiegand is a real historical botanist, whose biography can be found cited as short passages of text on the drawings. Through the combination of images, which do not necessarily have anything to do with the particular passages of text, van Eeden constructs a fictional biography for the botanist. This approach was recycled in later series', such as „Celia“, 2004–2006 and „The Archeologist. The Travels of Oswald Sollmann“, 2007 and „The death of Matheus Boryna“, 2007. The protagonists of these series', K.M. Wiegand, Celia Copplestone, Oswald Sollmann and Matheus Boryna, are featured together in the work „Witness for the prosecution“, in 2008.
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
draftsman and painter. From 1989 to 1993 van Eeden studied painting at the Royal Academy of Art
Royal Academy of Art (The Hague)
The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague is an art academy in the Netherlands. It is the oldest art academy in Europe. Known in Dutch as "Koninklijke Academie van Beeldende Kunsten, Den Haag" it was founded on 29 September 1682 when its predecessor, the Haagsche Teekenakademie was dissolved.- External...
in The Hague. Van Eeden lives and works in Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
and The Hague. Characteristically, van Eeden's work is reminiscent of the film-noir period, of almost photo-realistic depictions and he manipulates the use of the black and white contrast. A wider audience was introduced to his work after his contribution to the Berlin Biennale in 2006.
Works
Marcel van Eeden is primarily recognised for his drawings, for which he mainly works with charcoal pencils, however he also uses coloured pencils or water-colour paint. The majority of the drawings have a 19 cm x 28 cm / 7,5" x 11" format. Van Eeden produced a drawing everyday from 2001–2007, which he published daily onto his blogBlog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
. In 2007, he concluded the blog and returned for the first time since his studies to painting, however he does continue to draw. Van Eeden's paintings, as well as his drawings, utilise a variety of templates, which are all taken from the years before his date of birth, 1965. Van Eeden calls this project "The Encyclopedia of my Death". The templates include photographs, exhibition catalogues, newspaper clippings, magazines and illustrations or even cloth patterns. Many of the works show nocturnal urban scenes, fires, abstract shapes and patterns as well as short excerpts of stencilled texts. By focussing on the virtually infinite time span before his birth, van Eeden accepts his own existence as a merely insignificant part of a genuine time stream and discards the finiteness of his own existence.
Van Eeden assembles both his paintings and drawings in the same manner; in both mediums, he pursues a picturesque approach and focuses more on the images' grey tonal composition rather than the line. In this respect, he compares his work to the pastel chalk drawings of Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas
Edgar Degas[p] , born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, was a French artist famous for his work in painting, sculpture, printmaking and drawing. He is regarded as one of the founders of Impressionism although he rejected the term, and preferred to be called a realist...
.
In 2004/2005 van Eeden began to group his drawings together to form different sized series. This was inspired, amongst other things, by Robert Walser
Robert Walser
Robert Walser may refer to:* Robert Walser , Swiss modernist writer* Robert Walser , American musicologist, author and professor...
's „Spaziergang“ text which extended over a collection of drawings or constantly recurring characters.
The first great series to emerge from this modus was the 150 piece series „K. M. Wiegand. Life and Work“, 2006. K. M. Wiegand is a real historical botanist, whose biography can be found cited as short passages of text on the drawings. Through the combination of images, which do not necessarily have anything to do with the particular passages of text, van Eeden constructs a fictional biography for the botanist. This approach was recycled in later series', such as „Celia“, 2004–2006 and „The Archeologist. The Travels of Oswald Sollmann“, 2007 and „The death of Matheus Boryna“, 2007. The protagonists of these series', K.M. Wiegand, Celia Copplestone, Oswald Sollmann and Matheus Boryna, are featured together in the work „Witness for the prosecution“, in 2008.
Solo exhibitions
- 2010: Haus am Waldsee - Ort internationaler Gegenwartskunst, Berlin, Germany
- 2010: The Sollmann Collection, BaloiseBâloiseBâloise Holding AG is a Swiss insurance holding company headquartered in Basel. The company employs approximately 7,500 employees across Europe and is the third largest Swiss all-industry insurance service provider for individuals and businesses.-History:...
Kunstforum, Basel, Switzerland - 2010: Cornelia Maersk, Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- 2009: The Zurich Trial. Part 1: Witness for the Prosecution, Kunsthalle HamburgKunsthalle HamburgThe Hamburger Kunsthalle is an art museum in Hamburg, Germany. The art museum focuses on painting in Hamburg in the 14th century, paintings by Dutch and Flemish artists of the 16th and 17th centuries, French and German paintings of the 19th century, modern, and contemporary art...
, Germany - 2008: Kunstverein Heidelberg, Germany
- 2008: Centraal MuseumCentraal MuseumThe Centraal Museum is a museum in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The museum was founded in 1838. Initially, the collection - exhibited on the top floor of the Utrecht townhall - was limited to art related to the city of Utrecht...
Utrecht, the Netherlands - 2008: The Archaeologist - The Travels of Oswald Sollmann, Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Caja de Burgos, Spain
- 2007: The Archaeologist - The Travels of Oswald Sollmann, Kunsthalle Tübingen, Germany
- 2006: Celia, Kunstverein Hannover, Germany
- 2006: Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, Deurle, Belgium
- 2004: Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Switzerland
Group exhibitions
- 2010: LINIE LINE LINEA, Zeichnung der Gegenwart, Kunstmuseum BonnKunstmuseum BonnThe Kunstmuseum Bonn or Bonn Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Bonn, Germany, founded in 1947. The Kunstmuseum exhibits both temporary exhibitions and its collection. Its collection is focused on Rhenish Expressionism and post-war German art...
, Germany - 2009: Zeigen. Eine Audiotour durch Berlin von Karin Sander, Temporäre Kunsthalle Berlin, Germany
- 2009: Gestern oder im 2. Stock. Karl Valentin, Kunst und Komik seit 1948, Stadtmuseum München, Germany
- 2009: Grenzgänge. Junge Künstler auf der Suche nach der Moderne im 21. Jahrhundert, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, Germany
- 2009: Die Unsichtbare Hand, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst, Germany
- 2009: Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, New York, USA - 2008: Lügen.nirgends - Zwischen Fiktion, Dokumentation und Wirklichkeit , Ausstellungshalle zeitgenössische Kunst Münster, Germany
- 2008: Of this tale, I cannot guarantee a single word, Royal College of ArtRoyal College of ArtThe Royal College of Art is an art school located in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s only wholly postgraduate university of art and design, offering the degrees of Master of Arts , Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy...
, London, England - 2008: Into Drawing - Zeitgenössische Niederländische Zeichnungen, Stiftung Museum Schloss Moyland, Bedberg-Hau, Germany
- 2007: Eyes Wide Open - New to the Stedelijk Museum & The Monique Zajfen Collection, Stedelijk MuseumStedelijk MuseumFounded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
, Amsterdam, the Netherlands - 2007: Made in Germany, KestnergesellschaftKestnergesellschaftKestnergesellschaft - is an art gallery in Hanover, Germany.The Kestnergesellschaft, sometimes referred to as the Kestner society, was founded in 1916 with the goal of promoting the arts in Hanover, Germany. Its founders included the painter Wilhelm von Debschitz...
, Hannover, Germany - 2007: Against Time, Bonniers Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden
- 2006: Anstoß Berlin - Kunst macht Welt, Haus am Waldsee - Ort internationaler Gegenwartskunst, Berlin, Germany
- 2006: K. M. Wiegand. Life and Work. 4. Berlin Biennale für zeitgenössische Kunst, Berlin, Germany
- 2005: Gesehene Worte, Kunsthaus Langenthal, Switzerland
- 2005: Into Drawing, Contemporary Dutch Drawings, Limerick City Gallery of Art, Limerick, Ireland
- 2004: Zeichnung vernetzt, Städtische Galerie Delmenhorst, Germany
Literature
- Stephan Berg (ed.): Marcel van Eeden. Celia ( in collaboration with the exhibition "Marcel van Eeden. Celia", Kunstverein Hannover, Germany 2006) Ostfildern, Germany 2006.
- Berlin-Berlinale for contemporary art/Galerie Michael Zink (ed.): Marcel van Eeden. K. M. Wiegand, Life and Work, Ostfildern, Germany 2006.
- Spieler, Reinhard: Marcel van Eeden. Drawings (in collaboration with the exhibition with Marcel van Eeden. Drawings, Museum Franz Gertsch, Burgdorf, Germany 2004), Burgdorf, Germany 2004.
- Putzke, Markus: Marcel van Eeden : tekeningen, Zeichnungen, drawings, dibujos 1993 - 2003, Nürnberg, Germany 2003.