30 Jan 2013

Marcus Egli at Galerie d'(A), Lausanne

The year 2013 starts off with the first solo exhibition by Swiss metal sculptor Marcus Egli at Galerie d'(A). The exhibition title '(d)eux' refers to the artist's reflection on questions of identity – whether alone, as a couple or in a group; on the standardisation of the individual; and on our relationship, as individuals, with others.

Marcus Egli relentlessly asks questions about the meaning of life and its inherent polarities. What, for example, might have happened had Adam not met Eve? Or if, instead, he'd met another Adam? Through the instrument of humour, the artist invites us to access a range of works, in which he considers the relationship of the individual to others. Whether we are men or women, we are all human beings with shared dualities, even if society casts us into a mould. Egli exposes how little it takes to mark someone and that our differences are forged by our childhood memories or by the pivotal moments in our adult life. To underline these dissimilarities, Egli creates what he calls 'Hominiums' – a portmanteau made of 'homme' and 'aluminium', the latter being his material of choice. These 'Hominiums' resemble each other, they're asexual, and yet, being hammered out and brushed by hand, they are never identical. Devoid of detail or expression, their faces reflect the viewer or their surroundings. This role play throws us back to our own identity and the way we are perceived by others.

As human beings, we always position ourselves in relation to another or a situation, and often we don a mask to protect us from other people's judgment. Our human relationships are directed by our ties with the world and with history; these sometimes impose random identities on us, dictated by the inevitabilities of fate. With 'Capture' (2012) Marcus Egli shows us the moment where the image comes to a halt, where life teeters and the human being is forced to change. It is here the individual can finally re-open the drawers of the past and feel liberated in his or her own constructions of self confronting others.


ABOUT THE ARTIST

Born in Zürich in 1957, Marcus Egli studied mecanic engineering at Le Locle, city at the heart of the Swiss watch industry. Marcus Egli does not call himself an artist but a 'metallier', or a metalman. He lives and works in the Jura Mountains, in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland where he established himself as a self-taught artist in 1985. He developed the know-how required to manipulate this capricious metal, which he now puts to use for the creation of work of art. Egli is one of Switzerland's most successful sculptors today with his distinctive work in aluminium. He exhibits in collective exhibitions and as a solo artist in Europe, such as the Woolff Gallery in London (UK), the Artima Gallery in Paris (France), the Oltre Dimore Gallery in Bologna (Italy) and participated at various international fairs such as AAF New York (USA), TIAF Toronto (Canada) and the London Art Fair in the UK. The artist is also part of VISARTE-Neuchâtel (Swiss Visual Artists Association).