Marcel Dzama, born in 1974, lives in New York. Solo exhibitions in the Kunstmuseum Thun; Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Kunstverein Braunschweig et al. Group exhibitions in the Whitechapel Gallery, London 2014; Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto 2013; MoMA, New York 2009 et al.
A Game of Chess
(MEX 2011, HD, 14 Min. 2 Sek., no dialogue)
Chess, the favorite game of the twentieth-century avant garde – both military contest and aesthetic argument – in turn, serves here as the basis for a thrilling ballet of figures, full of suggestive allusions and surprising turns.
Une danse des bouffons (or A jester’s dance)
(USA 2013, 34’58’’, no dialogue)
German Premiere
A “Dadaist love story”, borrowed freely from Marcel Duchamp’s ill-fated affair with the Brazilian sculptor Maria Martins, here played by musician Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth). Martins tries everything to free her lover, who has been imprisoned and sentenced to permanently play chess. A silent black-and-white film, the story and scenic images are inspired by famous works of art – from Oskar Schlemmer’s “Triadic Ballet” to prints by Francisco de Goya or installations by Joseph Beuys.
