Marcel van Eeden

Posted by Fabio 21 September 2009

The Dutch artist Marcel van Eeden produces at least one drawing every day. His sources are photographs, many of them taken from newspapers or magazines. His only requirement is that these photographs must have originated before 1965—before he was born. In this way, van Eeden undertakes an almost encyclopedic exploration of the world of his parents and grandparents, a world he could not experience with his own five senses.
Marcel van Eeden is primarily recognised for his drawings, for which he mainly works with charcoal pencils, however he also uses coloured pencils or water-colour paint.

Van Eeden’s paintings, as well as his drawings, utilise a variety of templates, which are all taken from the years before his date of birth, 1965. Van Eeden calls this project “The Encyclopedia of my Death”. The templates include photographs, exhibition catalogues, newspaper clippings, magazines and illustrations or even cloth patterns.

Van Eeden assembles both his paintings and drawings in the same manner; in both mediums, he pursues a picturesque approach and focuses more on the images’ grey tonal composition rather than the line. In this respect, he compares his work to the pastel chalk drawings of Edgar Degas.

Characteristically, van Eeden’s work is reminiscent of the film-noir period, of almost photo-realistic depictions and he manipulates the use of the black and white contrast. A wider audience was introduced to his work after his contribution to the Berlin Biennale in 2006.