Marcel Vidal, 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow 2019
Thames & Hudson
Marcel Vidal included in 100 Sculptors of Tomorrow 2019.
An internationally juried selection of emerging and undiscovered sculptors working today.
Marcel Vidal
Marcel Vidal
Grey, yellow, blue, 2020
oil on linen
140 x 105 cm / 55.1 x 41.3 in
Marcel Vidal
Narcissus I 2020
oil on linen
45 x 35 cm / 17.7 x 13.8 in
Marcel Vidal
Banana II 2019,
oil on linen,
160 x 120 cm / 63 x 47.2 in
Marcel Vidal,
Banana I 2019,
oil on linen,
160 x 120 cm / 63 x 47.2 in
WHITE NOISE Installation view, 2018, Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin Ireland Photo: Lee Welch
Marcel Vidal
White Dress II 2018
oil on linen
70 x 60 cm / 27.6 x 23.6 in
Marcel Vidal,
Fingers 2019,
oil on linen,
60 x 50 cm / 23.6 x 19.7 in
SILVERFISH (installation view), 2018, The Dock Arts Centre Leitrim, Ireland Photo: Paul McCarty
Marcel Vidal
Laurel 2018
oil on linen, framed
32 x 27 cm / 12.6 x 10.6 in
Marcel Vidal
Stem 2018
oil on linen, framed
32 x 27 cm / 12.6 x 10.6 in
Marcel Vidal
Balcony 2017
expanding foam, spray paint, wood,
watercolour on paper, framed with glass
bitumen, zinc fittings, castor wheels, animal hooves, glue, twine, linen, plaster
196 x 62 x 62 cm / 77.2 x 24.4 x 24.4 in
Donut (installation view), 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Marcel Vidal
Handclap 2017
oil on canvas, fruit box wood frame
31 x 26 cm / 12.2 x 10.2 in
Marcel Vidal
Hand 2017
oil on linen
50 x 40.5 cm / 19.7 x 15.9 in
Marcel Vidal
Cactus 2017
oil on linen
30 x 25 cm / 11.8 x 9.8 in
WHITE NOISE, 2018, Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin Ireland Photo: Lee Welch
WHITE NOISE, 2018, Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin Ireland Photo: Lee Welch
WHITE NOISE, 2018, Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin Ireland Photo: Lee Welch
WHITE NOISE, 2018, Royal Hibernian Academy Dublin Ireland Photo: Lee Welch
SILVERFISH, 2018, The Dock Arts Centre Leitrim, Ireland Photo: Paul McCarty
SILVERFISH, 2018, The Dock Arts Centre Leitrim, Ireland Photo: Paul McCarty
SILVERFISH, 2018, The Dock Arts Centre Leitrim, Ireland Photo: Paul McCarty
SILVERFISH, 2018, The Dock Arts Centre Leitrim, Ireland Photo: Paul McCarty
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Donut, 2017, TBG+S Atrium, Dublin Photo: Kasia Kaminska
Installation view of Hannah Fitz, Áine McBride, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, Marcel Vidal at Kerlin Gallery, 7 July - 26 August 2017
Installation view of Hannah Fitz, Áine McBride, Daniel Rios Rodriguez, Marcel Vidal at Kerlin Gallery, 7 July - 26 August 2017
b. 1986, Dublin, Ireland
Marcel Vidal makes paintings and sculptures. Quietly disarming and unsettling us with an ominous beauty, Vidal’s paintings are marked by their controlled brushwork, layering oil on linen with delicacy and precision. They are refined and restrained, incarnating brightly lit fragments of photographs or digital images: unidentified figures seem caught by flashbulbs, and hold their arms in defensive barriers; glossy foliage catches the light before retreating into darkness; distinguished hands are frozen mid-clap. Vidal’s minimal compositions are severely cropped to reveal only a sliver of their subject, using ambiguity to frustrate interpretation, all while inviting our curiosity.
Vidal’s sculptures, meanwhile, encompass contrasting and combative textures and materials: furs, feathers or deer hooves mixed with assembled wood, concrete or industrial metal hardware. Chains, spikes and pest-prevention devices are rigged up for attack or defence, echoing the hostility of urban space and inner-city infrastructure. The sculptures often house small, self-contained watercolour paintings that rub up against the authority of their environments: ribbons of sausages, fragments of sculptures, an irreverent asshole. In Vidal’s most recent work, sculptural assemblages have expanded outwards into more immersive environments, entering a dialogue with the history, architecture and symbolism of the spaces they inhabit. Gallery walls have been suffused with matte black spray paint, or floors softened with artificial grass, creating unexpected and surprising spatial shifts. Visually arresting, these sculptural environments create a playful tension between the organic and the constructed, the threatening and fetishistic, the vital and the macabre.
Recent solo exhibitions include: SILVERFISH, The Dock Arts, Carrick on Shannon (2018); Donut, Temple Bar Gallery + Studios, Dublin (2017/2018); #untitled, Basic Space, Dublin (2013); Selected group exhibitions include, Hennessy Craig Award, Royal Hibernian Academy, Ireland (2019); Zurich Portrait Prize, National Gallery of Ireland (2019); Too Much Sugar, Drawing & Installation Station, TBG+S, Ireland (2019); Syntonic State, Tulca, Galway (2018); Hannah Fitz / Áine McBride / Daniel Rios Rodriguez / Marcel Vidal, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2017) and MOON FARK, Jason Dunne / Marcel Vidal / David Eager Maher, RAKE, Norway (2014).
Vidal is a recipient of Arts council of Ireland Next Generation Award and the winner of The Hennessy Craig Award, RHA Gallery, (Both 2019).
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Marcel Vidal, The Hennessy Craig Award 2019
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
9th October, 2019
Marcel Vidal was announced as the recipient of The Hennessy Craig Award 2019.
Marcel Vidal, Shortlisted The Zurich Portrait Prize 2019
National Gallery of Ireland
4 October 2019 – 12 January 2020
Marcel Vidal was shortlisted The Zurich Portrait Prize 2019 at National Gallery of Ireland
Marcel Vidal, 2019 Golden Fleece Award
Royal Hibernian Academy, Dublin
Marcel Vidal was announced as a recipient of the Golden Fleece Award.
