Lot 351 | Two Wooden Girls with Yellow Drumsticks

MANDERS, MARK
1968 Volkel/The Netherlands

Title: Two Wooden Girls with Yellow Drumsticks.
Date: 2012.
Technique: Wood, leather(?) and nails painted over dark brown.
Measurement: 114 x 102 x 18,5cm.


Provenance:
- Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

The artist Mark Manders first studied graphic design and later included sculptures, installations, drawings and short films in his artistic work. Especially his roughly worked clay sculptures helped him achieve international recognition.
The work "Two Wooden Girls with Yellow Drumsticks" was created in 2012, but if one were to ask Manders about the year of creation, he would probably have said the year 1986, the starting year of his project "Self-portrait as a building". Starting in 1986, Manders has incorporated each work into fictional architectural plans, which he sees as a constantly evolving self-portrait. Initially, he dated each of his works to 1986, but he had to abandon this practice because of complications with museums, among others.
The present sculpture, made of wood, shows two stylized women. Their arms are stretched out in the form of drumsticks at a 90 degree angle to the sides. In addition to the formal compositional aspects, the work is particularly captivating because of the varied play of the surfaces, which can also be found in his clay sculptures. The roughly worked base stands in stark contrast to the round and smooth surface of the bodies. The hair of the figures, worked as clay applications, act as a visual counterweight to the rough wooden base.
Mark Manders' works shine through his use of strong formal language as well as through placing different surfaces in relation to each other in order to stimulate a dialogue in the work itself. The combination of different materials also contributes to this exchange and challenges the viewer to a visually and intellectually demanding game.