In undertaking a project to represent the people, objects and events solely prior to the day of his birth, Marcel van Eeden (*1965) creates visual narratives that draw from disparate sources both visual and written. His oeuvre is divided into three main bodies of work: individual drawings, his various “narrative” series, which includes a cast of fictional characters, and the Category or Cat. series. Working primarily in monochrome on paper on a modest scale or, more recently, on a larger scale, he undertakes the endless and absurdly self-generating task of a desire to draw everything prior to his existence. Through the creation of semi-fictional protagonists and events, and by using material that pre-dates his own life, he questions the authenticity of autobiography and our broader experience of history and its documents.

© Marcel van Eeden
Marcel van Eeden
De Gasfabriek: Van Gogh x Van Eeden
Mesdag Collection, Den Haag
Through March 12, 2023
Artist Marcel van Eeden is a great admirer of Vincent van Gogh. For this presentation, he takes only one work by Van Gogh as the starting point for his charcoal drawings: the drawing Gasworks, created in The Hague in March 1882. Van Gogh's drawing is a logical choice for Van Eeden: his native The Hague plays an important role in his work. His apartment is also close to the original location of the now demolished gas factory.
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