The Absence of Mark Manders

Stephan Berg, Solveig Øvstebo, Philippe Van Cauteren, Mirjam Varadinis (Eds.)

Since the late 1980s, the Dutch artist Mark Manders (*1968) has been developing installation-sculptural works that are designed as fragments of a self-portrait in the form of imaginary spaces and with which he has developed one of the most prominent and independent positions in international sculpture. Based on the model-paradigmatic work Self-Portrait as a Building, created in 1986,his entire work is to be understood as a large-scale attempt to translate his own existence into wordless, associative spaces of memory. The design of the self as architecture leads to an artistic practice that understands sculpture as the spatial materialization of abstract and very personal thoughts, sensations and emotions. Like surreal three-dimensional images, chimneys, brick walls, oversized modeled rats, tables, chairs, newspapers and a plethora of small personal items are grouped together to form timeless »still lifes with broken moments«.

Exhibitions: Kunstverein Hannover, October 16–November 25, 2007; Bergen Kunsthall, January 11–February 24, 2008; SMAK Stedelijk Museum for Actual Art, Ghent, December 12, 2008–February 22, 2009;