Marc Bijl
Chesed / Dien
January 22, 2004–February 21, 2004The Breeder, Athens
The Breeder is pleased to announce the first solo show of Dutch artist Marc Bijl in Athens.
The title of the show “Chesed / Dien” means Mercy / Power and it is used in the ‘sefiroth’ from Jewish traditional ‘tree of wisdom’ as part of the 10 ‘spheres’. “For me (as an atheist) it is the same as many explanations of human life and politics; there seems to be good and evil, winners and losers, yin and yang, day and night, have and have-not’s, public and private space…” notes Marc Bijl.
Marc Bijl is an artist who inquires into social issues and their use of rules and symbols. This can result in interventions or installations that undermine or underline this perception of the world. His works do not seek to alter the inner structure of the issue he is referring to, but only its superficial image or myth. Whether these myths are produced by religions, nations, corporations or the art world, the reason behind them is often to simplify complex structures.
The “Chesed / Dien” show consists of an installation of two new works, The Good Army Relics and Socrates vs Springsteen, which refer to the fanaticism behind the effort to live a “good life” and to go around convincing others.
Other works include Dark Symbolism, Black Romance, and the video In Search of the Suspicious that refer to the exact opposite: Total control, and/or the romance of living a “darker life”.
Marc Bijl wants to create new myths and destroy certain others by using artificial exaggerations that have the appearance of being real.
Marc Bijl (1973), lives and work in Rotterdam and Berlin.
Solo shows: 2004 Chesed / Dien, The Breeder, Athens (Gr) 2003 The nation had been flirting with forms of Götterdämmerung…Casco, Utrecht (NL), Black Planet, Magazin 4, Bregenz (A), The world won’t listen, Bergman Frankfurt (Ger)
2002 …in the hour of your Death, KAPINOS Galerie, Berlin (Ger), PORN, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (Ger) Groop shows:
2003 ‘the space between us’ Vane, Newcastle (UK), Rendez-vous, Lyon (F), Prague Biennale, Praag (Tjech), Into the Breach, Smart Space Projects, Amsterdam (NL), Nation, Frankfurter Kunstverein, Frankfurt (Ger)
2002 M_ARS, Galerie am LAndesmuseum, Graz (A), Manifesta 4 Frankfurt am Main (Ger), Commitment Fonds BKVB Amsterdam, Las Palmas , Rotterdam (NL)
2001 Neighbours/Buren Stedelijk Van Abbemuseum, Endogen (NL)
