Canadian artist Marcel Dzama struggles to stay in one spot. He has followed his free spirit through his 48-year career. The Canadian polymath has long defended innocence while portraying menace in his beautiful paintings. Dzama is best known for his figurative drawings, but he also does sculptures, dioramas, puppets, costumes, stage designs, films, songs, and fanzines. During the lockdown, everything about collaboration and performance disappeared, leaving Dzama’s existence to consist of his wife, his young son, and his paintings.
Since the last few years had been so terrible, he says, “I wanted to have something lovely out there.”
Although Dzama doesn’t sound certain, his waterscapes “seem to portend the continued degradation of the natural world.” He says, “I am genuinely worried about climate change, but it’s not obvious. When I’m working on them, I’m really at ease.” His political illustrations are speedier and more vehement. They’re pretty stressful, he expresses, “I need to release this strange energy so that I can begin to unwind a little.”
He was still living with his parents when their home burned down in 1996, and most of his paintings from art school were lost. Drawing on hotel stationery while watching HBO, he rebuilt his portfolio in his temporary home. When he was only 23 years old, these drawings served as the basis for his thesis, which attracted the interest of a visiting curator and led to his first exhibition. At the time, Dzama’s works cost only $20, but thanks to celebrity collectors like Brad Pitt and Nicolas Cage, they are now much more valuable.