The End Game

Marcel Dzama:The End GameMarch 9 – August 12, 20121

Marcel DzamaThe End GameMarcel Dzama: The End Gamefeatures the artist’s film, A Game ofChess, alongside related drawings,sculptures, and dioramas.Dzama’s work draws from a diverse rangeof references and artistic influence, includingDada and Marcel Duchamp. His filmfeatures characters based on the classicgame of chess. Dressed in geometricallydesigned costumes of papier-mâché, plaster,and fiberglass and wearing elaborate masks(including a quadruple-faced mask for theKing), the figures dance across a checkeredboard to challenge their opponents infatal interchanges.Chess occupied a central role for the earlytwentieth-century avant-garde, who drewexplicit analogies between the game (withits intricate balance between improvisationand predetermination) and artistic practice.Dzama is influenced by German Bauhausartist Oskar Schlemmer, whose Triadic Balletfrom 1922 included puppet-like, costumed,and masked figures dancing across acheckered surface. French film-makerRené Clair and painter Francis Picabiawere amongst other artists who integratedballet and chess in their works from the1920s, employing the special set of rules andmoves of the game as metaphors for largerquestions regarding free will, destiny, andtechnological determinism.Both the filming and the creation ofthe costumes for A Game of Chess werecarried out in Guadalajara, Mexico, andthe influence of local crafts and religioustraditions can be felt throughout this bodyof work. Notions of scapegoatism andresurrection blend with the timeless ideaof rivalry represented by the game, anddistinctions between reality and fictionultimately become blurred as both costumedand “real-life” characters in the film arekilled. In this way, the storyline recalls theSurrealist predilection for dream logic overconventional narrative form—epitomizedby Luis Buñuel’s films from the late1920s and early 1930s. However, Dzamastill retains a strong sense of a plot, withsubtle insinuations to contemporary lifediscernible throughout.The exhibition also presents two rotatingsculptures based on central characters inthe film as well as new paintings createdespecially for this exhibition. Marcel Dzama:The End Game marks the first solo exhibitionof Dzama’s work in the Midwest.2Impressions of Braunschweig, 2011Ink, gouache, and graphite on paper20 pages, each: 11 x 8 ½"3

A Game of Chess, 2011Video projection, 14:02 minutesBlack and white, soundVideo dimensions varyDiorama: wood, cardboard,paper collage, acrylic, and ink8 x 6 x 3 7 / 8 "Edition of 445

Marcel DzamaArtist BioTop:A Game of Chess, 2010Graphite and watercolor on paper12 parts, each: 11 x 8 ½"Center:The Strategy of a PureSymbolic Order, 2011Collage, pencil, ink, andwatercolor on paper, 12 parts,each: 10 3 /4 x 8 1 /4"Bottom:The Queen’s Profile or Auxmille tours Revisité, 2010Graphite, watercolor,and ink on paper, 4 parts,each: 9 5 / 8 x 7 1 / 8 "Portrait of Marcel Dzama by Jason SchmidtBorn in 1974 in Winnipeg, Canada, MarcelDzama’s work is inhabited by an expansivecast of recurring human, animal, andhybrid characters. Typically manipulating adistinctive palette of muted browns, grays,greens, and reds, the artist has developed animmediately recognizable visual languagethat penetratingly explores human actionand motivation, often by means of theviolent, erotic, grotesque, and absurd. Hispractice unleashes a universe of childhoodfantasies and otherworldly fairytales,drawing equally from folk vernacular asfrom artistic influences that include Dadaand Marcel Duchamp. Widely known for hisworks on paper, Dzama has in recent yearsexpanded his practice to include sculpture,painting, film, large-scale polyptychs,and dioramas. In the latter, he constructsintricate, complex, three-dimensionalscenes using his signature drawings, collageelements, cardboard, and occasionallyceramics. He creates a cast of humanfigures, animals, and imaginary hybrids tolife, and has developed an internationalreputation and following for his art thatdepicts fanciful, anachronistic worlds.Dzama’s work has been the subject ofseveral solo exhibitions, most recently in2011 at Gemeentemuseum, The Hague,The Netherlands, and KunstvereinBraunschweig, Germany. In 2010, a majorsurvey was organized by the Musée d’artcontemporain de Montréal, Canada. Otherimportant solo exhibitions include thePinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2008);Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England; Centrefor Contemporary Arts, Glasgow (both2006); and Le Magasin – Centre Nationald’Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France(2005). His work has been featured innumerous group exhibitions internationally,including the CCA Wattis Institute forContemporary Arts, San Francisco (2011and 2009); Art Gallery of Nova Scotia,Halifax, Canada (2009 and 2004); TheMuseum of Modern Art, New York (2009,2008, 2006, and 2005); P.S.1. ContemporaryArt Center, Long Island City, New York(2006); Whitney Museum of American Art,New York (2006); among others.Dzama’s work is in the collections of majormuseums and public institutions, includingthe Andy Warhol Foundation for the VisualArts, New York; Corcoran Gallery of Art,Washington, D.C.; Dallas Museum of Art;Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal,Canada; Museum of Contemporary Art, LosAngeles; The Museum of Modern Art, NewYork; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,New York; Tate Gallery, London; and theVancouver Art Gallery.Since 1998, his work has been represented byDavid Zwirner, New York. The artist lives andworks in New York.67

Marcel Dzama: The End GameMarch 9 – August 12, 2012Special thanks to Marcel Dzama and DavidZwirner, New York. Related programmingand a downloadable pdf of this brochurecan be found at www.worldchesshof.org.All written materials have been adapted bytext provided by David Zwirner, New York.World Chess Hall of FameDirector: Susan Barrett4652 Maryland AvenueSaint Louis, MO 63108(314) 367-WCHF (9243)Copyright World ChessHall of FameDesigned by TOKYBranding + DesignPrinted on Recycled PaperTwitter@WorldChessHOFFacebookWorld Chess Hall of FameFlickrwww.flickr.com/photos/worldchesshofCover Image:The Rook (La Torre), 2011Polyester resin, fiberglass,plaster, steel, and motor83 3 /4 x 39"Back Cover Image:The Queen (La Reina), 2011Polyester resin, fiberglass,plaster, steel, and motor104 ½ x 38"Images are courtesy the artistand David Zwirner, New York.8