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| Marc Bijl |
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Born in Leerdam, Netherlands in 1973, Marc Bijl lives and works in Rotterdam. Bijl’s punk inspired practice problematizes the guerilla lexicon of the counter culture by staging it within the confines of contemporary art institutions while resisting any clear political position. His works first appear to be aimed at subverting the iconography, and by extent, the power structures of nation-states, organized religions and corporations through protest-inspired strategies, such as spray-painting graffiti text on a museum: “Resist” (2002), or pouring tar over the statue of an eagle: “Dark Symbolism” (2004), etc. But his cryptic propagandist mythology also props up the condemned institutions’ authority. Bijl’s ambiguous work plays with the slippery nature of symbolism, meaning and power, under-minding any real potential for subversion by fetishizing the tactics and aesthetics of revolt. Recent solo exhibitions include Indy Structure at The Breeder, Athens (2006) and Afterhours presented at the GEM, Museum of Contemporary Art, The Hague (2005) and at Cosmic Gallery, Paris (2006). His work was also shown in the Sculpture Garden of the Frieze Art Fair, London (2007), BODYPOLITCX at Witte de With, Rotterdam (2007), Destroy Athens, the 1st Athens Biennale (2007), Memorial to the Iraq War at the ICA, London (2007) as well as the Moscow Biennale (2007). Marc Bijl works with The Breeder in Athens, Cosmic Galerie in Paris and Upstream Gallery in Amsterdam. |
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