PRESS RELEASE

2021.1.8

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History
and Culture are carrying out this exhibition as part of the Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL.

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo

The Absence of Mark Manders
20 March – 20 June 2021
Sculptures looking as though a mere touch would bring them crashing down, objects of obscure
age and origin, a studio bearing the evidence of departed occupants, long dark corridors, ...
Welcome to the world of Mark Manders, a mixture of calmness and unease.

The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) is delighted to present the first solo exhibition
at a Japanese art museum by Mark Manders, a Dutch artist who occupies a unique position in
the contemporary art scene.
Mark Manders was born in 1968 in Volkel, the Netherlands, and currently works from his studioin Ronse, Belgium. In 1986, at the age of eighteen, he had a sort of epiphany that inspired his“Self-Portrait as a Building” concept. This has informed his work ever since, utilizing the form of
a “building” for over thirty years as the framework for a self-portrait of an imaginary artist named,
like the artist himself, “Mark Manders.”
During this period, the artist has produced a series of sculptures and objects to be placed in therooms of the building, presenting them as installations. By means of the overall layout of theseworks, he is constructing a human figure, which results in the creation of a world with a uniqueand extremely large framework. Based on this fictional framework, the creative world of his works
displays an unparalleled vision, and attracts worldwide acclaim, as does the quality of each of
the individual works, probing deeply into the concept of sculpture. For this solo exhibition,
Manders conceived of the whole exhibition as the installation of a single work, the building.
Individual works are assembled from images based on art history and personal memories, fromstatuary and words, and from a variety of furniture and other objects. To the viewer, they invoke
complex emotions, distort the sense of time, and encourage thought and introspection. Each
independent work is fascinating in isolation, but being part of a larger framework reveals new
aspects that are even more captivating. Each work manifests as a part of this imaginary building,where the real Manders who produces the works and the self-portrait of the imaginary Mandersintermingle, fading and reappearing as they lure viewers into a fictional space. At the same time,
individual works are interchangeable—like words in a sentence, they can be swapped aroundaccording to the room and the configuration. Because of that, the imaginary building as a whole
resembles an automatic mechanism undergoing constant modification and updating. The“Absence” in the title is one of the keywords behind all of Manders’ works. It carries multiplemeanings, including reference to the stillness and the sense that what can be seen in aninstallation is a moment frozen in time, to the traces of departed occupants, and to the way thatagency flits between the real artist and the imaginary artist. It can also be considered to denotethe fact that the work is autonomous, capable of maintaining an independent existence even if
the artist is absent. Manders’ world continues to enthrall those who enter it, encouraging themto reconsider their thoughts regarding the meaning of art, and their thoughts regarding timeand experiences of human life and imagination.
This solo exhibition is a highly valuable opportunity to gain a deep appreciation of Manders’work and to observe its unique structure. Viewers are recommended to hone their senses andtake their time to encounter this world to the full.
Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

1Highlights
Meticulously crafted works—“Frozen moment”
Each and every work by Manders incorporates a multitude of elements, such as his personal memories
and lifestyle, and fragments of art history from a number of periods and regions. Some works appear
heavily weathered, with fragile material likely to collapse at any moment, while others have the moist
gloss of freshly-sculpted clay. There are works combining parts in inconceivably tense arrangements,
and works with strangely uncomfortable scale. In addition to the mixture of calmness and unease, fromthese carefully calculated and meticulously executed works comes the sense that everything froze inplace at the same instant, stopping the flow of time. This world, which the artist describes as a “frozenmoment,” incites a longing for an unchanging world without decay, leaving a powerful impression onviewers.

Intriguing installations at the heart of Manders’ practice
Each of Manders’ individual works is viable in its own right, but the works are all connected to the ideaof a “building” as the self-portrait of an imaginary artist named “Mark Manders.” In that sense, a viewer
standing in front of one of these physical works is simultaneously in the imaginary room that is a partof the building. This space where fact and fiction overlap is one of the great attractions of Manders’works. The artist began working on his ideas for this exhibition back in March 2019, and conceived of
the whole of the exhibition gallery space on one floor at the museum (1,000 ㎡) as a single work.
Installation is a key part of Manders’ practice. His world can only be appreciated to the fullest extent
by actually entering these installations.

Venice Biennale exhibit presented for the first time in JapanThe exhibition incorporates the well-known works that have been a consistent feature of the artist’s
recent major solo exhibitions. These include his representative works Nocturnal Garden Scene andMind Study, which MOT is arranging to borrow from museum collections in Belgium and theNetherlands to be exhibited in Japan for the first time. Mind Study was part of his presentation at the55th International Venice Biennale in 2013. In addition, Manders plans to produce one of the room
motif installations that he professes to be very fond of.
Viewers who enjoyed the interplay between the works of Manders and Michaël Borremans in their dual
exhibition at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (19 September 2020 – 28February 2021) will be fascinated to see Manders’ works from a different perspective. The differencesin approach between the two exhibitions results in a rare opportunity for a multifaceted exploration of
the work of Mark Manders, leading to a deeper understanding of the attraction and significances of
his work.

1 Mark Manders' Studio View

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

2Profile of Mark Manders
Born in 1968 in Volkel, the Netherlands, and currently lives and works in Ronse, Belgium. Studied design
at the Arnhem Academy of Art and Design from 1988 to 1992. Since 1986, his works have been basedon his “Self-Portrait as a Building” concept. Creating sculptures and objects to be placed in the roomsof this imaginary building, he presents his works as a series of installations. In 1988, he collaboratedwith Roger Willems to launch Roma Publications. In addition to Manders’ artist books and exhibition
catalogues, this publishing company produces books for other artists, and makes the notional
newspapers that are one of Manders’ representative works. He has participated in many internationalart festivals, including the São Paulo Biennale (1998), Documenta 11 (2002) and the Venice Biennale(2013). Solo exhibitions include an exhibition that toured Europe from 2008 to 2009, an American tourin 2011, and, more recently, an extensive retrospective at the Bonnefantenmuseum in the Netherlands(2020). He has also produced monumental outdoor
sculptures for the Public Art Fund (2019, CentralPark, New York, USA) and Rokin Square (2017,Amsterdam, the Netherlands). His main exhibitionsin Japan have been the inclusion of Tokyo
Newspaper in “Territory: Contemporary art from theNetherlands” at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery (2000),participation in the Aichi Triennale (2016), and“MICHAËL BORREMANS MARK MANDERS: DoubleSilence” at the 21st Century Museum ofContemporary Art, Kanazawa (2020).
2 Mark Manders Photo: Cedric Verhelst

Information
Exhibition Period
ClosedOpening Hours
Admission
Venue
Organized bySponsored byCurated bySat. National Holiday 20 March – Sun. 20 June 2021
Mondays (except 3 May), 6 May
10:00 – 18:00 (Tickets available until 30 minutes before closing.)
Adults - 1,500yen / University & College Students, Over 65 - 1,000yen / High School &Junior High School Students - 600yen / Elementary School Students & Younger - Free
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo Exhibition Gallery 3F
Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo operated by Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for
History and Culture
Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands etc.
Yoshimi Chinzei (MOT)

Exhibition Catalogue
A catalogue for the exhibition is scheduled for publication at the end of April 2021. Including
installation views and texts by the artist, it will be the first Mark Manders monograph to be publishedin Japan.

Concurrent Exhibitions“rhizomatiks_multiplex”, “MOT Collection: Rewinding the Collection”“Tokyo Contemporary Art Award 2019-2021 Exhibition”
Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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PRESS IMAGES

3 Mark Manders, Dry Figure on Chair, 2011-15
Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New Yorkand Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo

4 Mark Manders, Unfired Clay Head , 2011-14
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp & Tanya
Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles
Photo: Genevieve Hanson

5 Mark Manders, Mind Study, 2010-11 Collection of Bonnefantenmuseum Maastricht
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp Photo: Peter Cox / Bonnefanten

Contact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

46Mark Manders, Fox / Mouse / Belt, 1992-93
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya BonakdarGallery, New York and Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo

7 Mark Manders, Composition with Four Yellow Verticals,
2017-19
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery,
New York and Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo
Photo: Maris Hutchinson

8 Mark Manders, Composition with Yellowand Blue, 2014-2018
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp
Photo: Peter Cox

Contact

9 Mark Manders, Staged Android (Reduced to 88%), 2002-14
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp
Photo: Peter CoxMuseum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

5

IMAGE REQUEST FORM

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* We kindly ask for a copy of the respective magazine, newspaper, DVD, video file, website link etc. for us to keepin our press archives.

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1 Mark Manders' Studio View
2 Mark Manders

Photo: Cedric Verhelst

3 Mark Manders, Dry Figure on Chair, 2011-15 Collection of Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo
4 Mark Manders, Unfired Clay Head, 2011-14
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp & Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York/Los Angeles
Photo: Genevieve Hanson
5 Mark Manders, Mind Study, 2010-11 Collection of Bonnefantenmuseum MaastrichtCourtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp Photo: Peter Cox / Bonnefanten
6 Mark Manders, Fox / Mouse / Belt, 1992-93
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo
7 Mark Manders, Composition with Four Yellow Verticals, 2017-19
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp, Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York and Gallery Koyanagi, Tokyo
Photo: Maris Hutchinson
8 Mark Manders, Composition with Yellow and Blue, 2014-2018
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp Photo: Peter Cox
9 Mark Manders, Staged Android (Reduced to 88%), 2002-14
Courtesy: Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp Photo: Peter CoxContact

Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo
Public Relations Chiako Kudo / Mihoko Nakajima E-MAIL: mot-pr@mot-art.jp
TEL: +81-3-5245-1134
URL: https://www.mot-art-museum.jp/en* All Programs are subject to change.

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