Marcel Mariën

Overview

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More is said by saying nothing.

On of the first Belgian surrealists, Marcel Mariën was known for his poetry, essays, photographs, films, and collages. Never limited to a single medium of artistic expression, he constantly sought new possibilities of creation and artistic techniques and was heavily influenced by Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp.

Biography

There is no object without an image, apart perhaps from the universe, of which one disputes whether it is one or the other, if not both.

After meeting René Magritte in 1937, Marcel Mariën joined the surrealist movement in Brussels. Magritte introduced Mariën to the French surrealist artists Paul Colinet, Louis Scutenaire, René Char, Paul Eluard and Paul Nougé. From an early age, the artist devoted his artistic work to the movement, and is recognized today as an important player for surrealism in Belgium counting numerous solo and group exhibitions worldwide.

Mariën's work is entirely founded on vocabulary and the lexicon, which the artist questions through images and associated objects without hierarchy. His artworks are included in collections of the world’s greatest museums, such as The Royal Museums of Fine Arts, Brussels, The Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Tate Modern, London, the MoMA, New York, and The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, among others.

Works

Marcel Mariën
L'air de rien, 1991
wooden hammer
39.5 x 21.3 x 12.5 cm
15 8/16 x 8 6/16 x 4 14/16 in

Marcel Mariën
La veuve progressive, 1991
plastic bust, bra on wallpaper
51.5 x 51.5 x 17.5 cm
20 4/16 x 20 4/16 x 6 14/16 in

Marcel Mariën
Le surmâle ( Fer à repasser), 1986
silver print
13 x 18 cm
5 1/16 x 7 1/16 in
passe-partout 30 x 40 cm

Marcel Mariën
Le Domicile de l'espérance, 1972
wooden chair, stuffed spider, wooden painting on wallpaper
123.3 x 129 x 15.5 cm
48 8/16 x 50 12/16 x 6 1/16 in

Marcel Mariën
"La Vie quotidienne" ou “Le génie est facile, 1967
found objects on paper
38 x 55 cm
14 15/16 x 21 10/16 in

Marcel Mariën
L'Esprit de l'escalier, 1949
Original black and white analog photograph
18 x 13 cm
7 1/16 x 5 1/16 in
Sous passe-partout : 40 x 30 cm

Marcel Mariën
L'air de rien, 1991
wooden hammer
39.5 x 21.3 x 12.5 cm
15 8/16 x 8 6/16 x 4 14/16 in
Marcel Mariën
La veuve progressive, 1991
plastic bust, bra on wallpaper
51.5 x 51.5 x 17.5 cm
20 4/16 x 20 4/16 x 6 14/16 in
Marcel Mariën
Le surmâle ( Fer à repasser), 1986
silver print
13 x 18 cm
5 1/16 x 7 1/16 in
passe-partout 30 x 40 cm
Marcel Mariën
Le Domicile de l'espérance, 1972
wooden chair, stuffed spider, wooden painting on wallpaper
123.3 x 129 x 15.5 cm
48 8/16 x 50 12/16 x 6 1/16 in
Marcel Mariën
"La Vie quotidienne" ou “Le génie est facile, 1967
found objects on paper
38 x 55 cm
14 15/16 x 21 10/16 in
Marcel Mariën
L'Esprit de l'escalier, 1949
Original black and white analog photograph
18 x 13 cm
7 1/16 x 5 1/16 in
Sous passe-partout : 40 x 30 cm