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Cose in Corso

“Cose in corso” is the title that Mark Manders has given to the project made for Collezione Maramotti, thus demonstrating its continuity with the tenets of his creative process.

The large installation by Mark Manders at Collezione Maramotti uses objects which are already present in other works (bathtub, chairs, the unfinished body laid out on the wood plank resting on the chair), which are here contextualized differently.

The installation rests on the floor made of iron tiles which create a virtual environment inscribed onto the exhibition space. The outcome is the creation of a stage representation which – as indicated by Manders himself – may hold a “conceptual potential narrative in a total frozen theatre”. A new element is the use of pure colour defining some objects present in the work as to underline the possibility of a strongly pictorial gesture within a sculptural dimension.

Mark Manders Cose in Corso — Mark Manders, *Inhabited for a Survey (First Floor Plan from Self-Portrait as a Building)* 1986, writing materials, erasers, painting tools, scissors, 8 x 267 x 90 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Found, re-constructed or better still re-invented objects are placed side by side with elements created by the artist in compositions which continuously and kaleidoscopically reveal novel organic constellations. These juxtapositions create a narrative, like the pages of a diary in a very personal artistic development.

Sculptures and objects are left to settle for long periods of time, even years, in his studio, and undergo on-going changes and transformations in a long process of gestation ending when they are placed in the space set aside for their installation.

The choice of a material such as clay is consistent with the concept of an in fieri progression; Manders employs it in his creations both as a mould for further developments with other materials (epoxy resins, casts) and as raw material for the creation of human and animal figures, which are broken or disjointedly incomplete

The project “Cose in corso” is accompanied by an artist’s book devised and made by Manders and published by Roma Publications, the independent publishing company founded by the artist.

Mark Manders, Life on Mars, installation view, “55th Carnegie International”, Carnegie Museum of Art, 3 May 2008 – 11 January 2009. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Mark Manders, Anthropological Trophy, 2010, iron, brass, wood, painted epoxy, painted hair, and painted canvas, 375 x 210 x 260 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Mark Manders, Room with Chairs and Factory, mixed media, 318 x 240 x 405 cm Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Mark Manders, Finished Sentence (August 2010), iron, painted wood, offset print on paper, tea bags, 99,1 x 251,5 x 130,8 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Mark Manders, Room with Broken Sentence, installation view, “55a Biennale di Venezia”, Dutch Pavilion, Venice, 2013, 1 June – 24 November 2013. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp. Ph. C. Jan Kempenaers

Mark Manders, Mind Study, 2010-2011, wood, painted epoxy, painted ceramic, painted canvas, iron, 170 x 240 x 500 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

On the left: Mark Manders, Working Table, 2012-2013, / painted epoxy, painted wood, painted canvas, iron, offset print on paper, 368 x 142 x 225 cm. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp. On the right: Mark Manders, Room with Broken Sentence, installation view, “55a Biennale di Venezia”, Dutch Pavilion, Venice, 2013, 1 June – 24 November 2013. Courtesy the artist; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York; Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp. Ph. C. Jan Kempenaers

On the left: Mark Manders, “Cose in corso”, exhibition image of the project for the Collezione Maramotti. On the right: Mark Manders, Studio Photograph, 2005

form March 9 until September 28, 2014
Mark Manders
Cose in corso
Collezione Maramotti
Via Fratelli Cervi 66
Reggio Emilia

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Cose in Corso

“Cose in corso” is the title that Mark Manders has given to the project made for Collezione Maramotti, thus demonstrating its continuity with the tenets of his creative process.

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