Since rising to prominence in the late 1990s, 

 (b. 1974) has developed an immediately recognizable visual language that investigates human action and motivation, as well as the blurred relationship between the real and the subconscious. Drawing equally from folk vernacular as from art-historical and contemporary influences, Dzama’s work visualizes a universe of childhood fantasies and otherworldly fairy tales.

Dzama was born in Winnipeg, Canada, where he received his BFA in 1997 from the University of Manitoba. Since 1998, his work has been represented by David Zwirner. The artist has had fourteen solo exhibitions with the gallery, including 

 which was his ﬁrst presentation at the London location in 2013 and was accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue co-published by Hatje Cantz, with an essay by Deborah Solomon. In 2014, David Zwirner presented a solo exhibition of Dzama’s work at the gallery in New York, which marked the United States debut of his film 

Une danse des bouffons (A jester’s dance)

. In 2016, the gallery held two exhibitions in New York and London dedicated to the collaborative works by Dzama and Raymond Pettibon. 

, which marked the artist’s first solo presentation in Greater China, was on view at the Hong Kong gallery in 2019. In 2020, David Zwirner Online presented 

, an online exhibition of Dzama’s work, and in July of the same year, 

 was featured at the gallery's Paris location. In 2021, 

 was presented at the gallery’s 69th Street location in New York and in 2022, David Zwirner, London, presented 

Dzama has exhibited widely throughout the United States and abroad. In 2022, a solo presentation of the artist's work, 

Marcel Dzama: Viviendo en el limbo y soñando con el paraíso

 was on view at the Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), Mexico. 

was on view in 2021 at the Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art, Georgia. Also in 2021, the Sara Hildén Art Museum in Tampere, Finland presented an exhibition of the artist’s work entitled 

 a film and performance commissioned by Performa as part of 

 was presented at Galería Helga de Alvear in Madrid and 

 was shown at University of Michigan Museum of Art in Ann Arbor, Michigan. In 2017, La Casa Encendida in Madrid exhibited 

Une danse des bouffons (or A jester’s dance)

 was presented alongside related two- and three-dimensional work at the World Chess Hall of Fame in St. Louis. In 2010, a major survey of the artist's work was held at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal.

Other solo exhibitions include those organized by Kunstmuseum Thun, Switzerland (2014); Galería Helga de Alvear, Madrid (2013); Centro de Arte Contemporáneo de Málaga, Spain; Museo de Arte de Zapopan (MAZ), Mexico; World Chess Hall of Fame and Museum, St. Louis (all 2012); Gemeentemuseum, The Hague; Kunstverein Braunschweig, Germany (both 2011); Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich (2008); Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, England (2006); and Le Magasin – Centre National d’Art Contemporain de Grenoble, France (2005).

In 2021, MTA Arts & Design unveiled a commissioned mosaic by the artist, 

, that is permanently on view at the Bedford Avenue Station in Brooklyn, New York.

In 2016, the artist created the costume and stage design for New York City Ballet’s 

, a performance based on Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale. Coinciding with the performance, Dzama also created an installation in the Promenade of the David H. Koch Theater as part of the New York City Ballet Art Series, titled 

The tension around which history is built

Work by the artist is held in museum collections worldwide, including the Dallas Museum of Art; Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, United Kingdom; and the Vancouver Art Gallery. Dzama lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath

 (2018), a critical memoir; two essay collections, 

 (2010). She is a contributing writer for 

 and directs the graduate nonfiction program at Columbia University.

Leslie Jamison

 from David Zwirner Books features new work by a leading contemporary artist. Available in both English-only and bilingual English/traditional Chinese editions, this series makes the work of these important artists accessible to a wider audience.

Spotlight Series

Text by William Shakespeare. Artwork by Marcel Dzama. Introduction by Leslie Jamison

Set in an enchanted forest, Shakespeare’s 

is the ideal subject for artist Marcel Dzama, whose work frequently references dreams, fairy tales, and mythical worlds.

, Shakespeare’s celebrated romantic comedy intertwines multiple narratives under the influence of transformation and witchcraft. The play is often staged with actors wearing animal masks, an aspect that appeals particularly to Dzama, whose work is characterized by the fusion of human and animal, fantasy and reality.

As the second title in David Zwirner Books’s 

series, this book revisits this ultimate fairy tale through the eyes of a contemporary artist who feels a special affinity for its imagery.

William Shakespeare × Marcel Dzama: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

William Shakespeare × Marcel Dzama: A Midsummer Night’s Dream | David Zwirner Books

David Zwirner is an art gallery with locations in New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris and Hong Kong. We present physical and online exhibitions, podcasts, books, and more.