Calvin Marcus

Through a process of obsessive detailing, new perspectives begin to germinate and bloom in the world proposed by Calvin Marcus. In each painting we find ourselves at a grave’s height, where in order to grasp the beautiful we also must accept the grotesque. We are resurrected from the earth’s lowest depths, exposed to a suffering that may ultimately bring blissful benefits. The deviant nature of these macrocosmic paintings’ are at once frightening, and yet their repose lulls with the sensation of an opium dream.

A flower’s allure comes from its ephemeral lifespan. The cutting of a stem is reflective of our brutal nature: inebriated by beauty and the desire to hold it closer, we sacrifice beauty itself as a price. Hair is seen as a symbol of beauty, but once it has fallen and lost its life, it elicits disgust. The thin line that divides delight from repulsion mirrors life itself—once separated from the body, organic matter quickly transforms into a perpetual state of decay.

Marcus’ enchanting pictures offer reflections on the relationship between nature and nurture. It allows for deeper observation: humanity’s primary tool in understanding our surroundings. Nature’s secrets manifest themselves through thoughtful contemplation, resemblance and order. Yet, by employing only logical reason, the imagination and spirit through which nature seeks to communicate might find itself obstructed.

Although a scientific poem is probably as nonsensical as a poetic science, Calvin Marcus’ begonias expose something that can be read as an in-between. Born out of a close examination and brought to life through imagination, this new body of work finds itself in constant evolution, not unlike a plant clipping bred over generations.

Calvin Marcus (born 1988, San Francisco, CA) lives and works in Los Angeles. He received his MFA from UCLA in 2015.

Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at The Power Station, Dallas; Peep-Hole, Milan; David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles and Clearing New York and Brussels.

His work has been featured in the 2019 Whitney Biennial, New York as well as group exhibitions at Karma, New York; Massimo De Carlo, London; Gagosian, Athens; Eva Presenhuber, Zurich; White Cube, London; and Greene Naftali, New York.

Calvin Marcus’s work is part of the collections of MoMA and the Whitney Museum, New York; MCA, Chicago; MOCA, Los Angeles; Museum Boijmans, Rotterdam; Paris Museum of Modern Art and Fondation Louis Vuitton, Paris; Astrup Fearnley, Oslo; Rubell Museum, Miami; Aishti Foundation, Beirut; and K11, Hong Kong/Shanghai/Beijing.