BRUSSELS.- Xavier Hufkens announced the representation of Dutch-Belgian artist Mark Manders. Best known for his continuous project entitled Self-Portrait as a Building since 1986, Manders’ artistic practice departs from the idea that his work is one endless and ever-expanding self-portrait.
Mark Manders will unveil his inaugural exhibition with the gallery in Brussels, opening on 24 October 2024.
Mark Manders: “I am thrilled to embark on this new journey with Xavier Hufkens, particularly since this collaboration aligns perfectly with the renewed energy and inspiration I’ve found in my new studio. It’s an exciting time of evolution and growth, both personally and artistically. I look forward to working on many exhibitions together.”
Xavier Hufkens: “For over three decades, Mark Manders has carved a singular path in contemporary art, blurring the lines between fiction and reality; between sculpture and architecture. With his unique oeuvre defying any categorisation, Manders prompts us to explore the complexities of the self and the narratives that shape our existence. We are excited to start working with him.”
Since 1986, Manders has rigorously dedicated himself to the ongoing project entitled Self-Portrait as a Building. This distinctive and ambitious body of work encompasses sculptures, installations, publications, drawings, and architectural plans, all contributing to the creation of a fictional architectural self-portrait. The ‘building’ he references is an ideal construct: a notional structure, akin to a body, in which to assemble and arrange these varied facets of his oeuvre and personal identity. This perpetual assembly of varied elements continuously challenges to disrupt the coherence of the self-portrait.
The beginning of Self-Portrait as a Building was rooted in language as Manders initially explored writing as the medium to develop his own narrative in an autobiographical manner. He later began experimenting beyond language by incorporating everyday objects as vehicles for expression, thereby shifting his attention to the structure of meaning itself. Objects – ranging from invented forms to everyday items – became his new vocabulary and grammar.
Manders employs meticulous craftsmanship in carefully rearranging and recreating architectural motifs, such as chimneys and walls, alongside objects reduced to 88%, including tables, chairs, and vessels. His timeless and distinctly non-linear body of work deliberately distorts reality, challenging any straightforward, chronological understanding of his oeuvre.
The artist and gallery would like to thank Frank Demaegd and his team. Manders continues to be represented by Tanya Bonakdar Gallery in New York and Los Angeles, as well as by Gallery Koyanagi in Tokyo.
Mark Manders (b. 1968, Volkel, Netherlands) lives and works in Ronse, Belgium. A solo exhibition is scheduled to open at Museum Voorlinden in Wassenaar, The Netherlands in 2025. Manders was commissioned by the Public Art Fund to create a large public sculpture for the Doris C. Freedman Plaza in Central Park, New York in 2019. Other large-scale outdoor sculptural installations are on display at the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and at the Rokin Square in Amsterdam. He represented the Netherlands at the Venice Biennale in 2013. Manders co-founded independent art book publisher Roma Publications, alongside Roger Willems and Marc Nagtzaam in 1998.
Public collections include The Art Institute of Chicago, IL; Carnegie Museum of Art, PA; Kunsthaus Zürich; Museum of Modern Art, NY; Museum of Contemporary Art, LA; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Walker Art Center, MN, among others.
