Biography
Marc Bijls practice is about the contradictory, the old and new, the good and bad. He researches, questions and criticizes global themes such as political power, globalization of the economy and nationalism. This results in interventions that underscored or undermined world views. Views that are depicted in a various arsenal of media, namely the media of image, text and music and often influenced by figureheads of the contemporary art such as Piet Mondrian, Mark Rothko and Barnett Newman. Bijl mirrors contemporary society and its visual culture in an anarchistic and punk-inspired way, while alternating between street culture and political activity.
His most recent work is more abstract and minimalistic, exemplifying a shift in approach, by which he pares down different perspectives and methodologies to a new essence. The crux is no longer the 'symbolism', but what that symbolism represents and signifies.
Marc Bijl (NL, 1970) has had solo exhibitions at institutions worldwide, including the Groninger Museum (2012); Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel (2009); DA2, Salamanca (2009); Gem Museum, Den Haag (2005); and Kunstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2002), among others. Bijl has participated in significant group exhibitions including those held at Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Van Abbemuseum Eindhoven; Rijksmuseum Twenthe; Groninger Museum; Cobra Museum Amstelveen; Hamburger Bahnhof Berlin; Kunstmuseum St Gallen; Fridericianum Kassel; Kunstmuseum Bonn; and MUSAC Castilla y Leon. The artist’s work is held in numerous public collections internationally, including Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Collection MUSAC, Castilla y Leon; Frac, Nord, Pas de Calais; Collection HVCCA, New York; Collection Kunstmuseum Stuttgart; Collection Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag; Groninger Museum; KRC Collection, The Netherlands; and Daskapopoulos Collection, Greece, among others.
Publications:
Bijl, Marc. Afterhours. Brugge: Die Keure, 2005. ISBN: 90-6730-202-3
Bijl, Marc. In Case You Didn't Feel Like Showing Up. Rotterdam: NAi Publishers, 2009. ISBN: 978-90-5662-682-2
Bijl, Marc. Hard Edge. Berlijn: The Green Box, 2012. ISBN: 978-3-941644-49-6
© Portrait by Ruud van der Peijl