Ponti Art Gallery is interested in buying and selling works
of art by this artist.
Christian Marclay Biography
Christian Marclay is a renowned visual artist and composer whose innovative work has been at the forefront of exploring the intersections between sound, noise, photography, video, and film. Born on January 11, 1955, in San Rafael, California, Marclay possesses both American and Swiss nationality, a reflection of his diverse cultural background with a Swiss father and an American mother. His upbringing in Geneva, Switzerland, played a significant role in shaping his artistic sensibilities.
Marclay's journey into the world of art began with his studies at the École Supérieure d'Art Visuel in Geneva from 1975 to 1977. He then continued his education in the United States, attending the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1980. During his time at the Cooper Union in New York in 1978, Marclay was notably influenced by Joseph Beuys and the Fluxus movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
From the late 1970s, Marclay began to make his mark as a pioneer in the use of gramophone records and turntables as musical instruments, creating sound collages that were both innovative and independent of the contemporary hip hop movement's use of the instrument. His work in this area has led some critics to regard him as the "unwitting inventor of turntablism." Marclay's approach to music was shaped by the energy of punk rock and performance art, which led him to collaborate on various musical projects and find inspiration in the playful energy of these movements.
Marclay's artistic practice is characterized by his multidisciplinary approach, which encompasses performance, sculpture, and video. His work often involves the deconstruction and recontextualization of recorded media and its associated materials. For instance, in his "Recycled Records" series from 1980 to 1986, he sliced apart vinyl records and reassembled the fragments to create new sequences of sound. This experimentation with prerecorded and mechanical sounds became the central focus of his art.
Throughout the 1980s, Marclay established himself as an avant-garde deejay, or "turntablist," in New York City, collaborating with musicians such as John Zorn and the band Sonic Youth. His performances frequently incorporated the prerecorded sounds produced by vinyl records played on turntables, and his manipulations of these records were considered groundbreaking.
Marclay's work also extends to a wide range of art objects, collages, and installations, with music and the technologies involved in its production serving as primary subjects. His "Tape Fall" (1989) installation, for example, featured a reel-to-reel tape player playing a recording of dripping water while the spent tape accumulated on the floor. In his "Body Mix" series from 1991 to 1992, Marclay stitched together various album covers to form mutant figures, commenting on the commodification of popular music.
One of Marclay's most acclaimed works is "The Clock" (2010), a 24-hour film that compiles thousands of sequences from existing movies to show the hours, minutes, and seconds of a complete day. This piece, which demands to be experienced in real time, won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale in 2011 and has been celebrated for its exploration of how time is expressed in cinema.
Marclay's work has been exhibited in numerous prestigious institutions worldwide, including the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York. His art is held in the public collections of major museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington D.C., and the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Today, Marclay continues to live and work between New York and London, where he creates works that challenge and enrich the sensory experiences of sight and sound. His contributions to the fields of visual art and music have established him as a significant figure in contemporary art, and his work continues to influence and inspire artists around the world.
Christian Marclay Quotes and
Sales of Works
Ponti Art Gallery selects and deals with paintings by the
artist. Upon request, we provide free estimates and
evaluations, communicate prices, quotations, and current
market values.
If you are interested in BUYING or SELLING works by the
artist, contact us immediately.
If you wish to sell or receive an evaluation of the
works:
Send us a frontal photo of the painting, one of the back,
and one of the signature. Also, indicate the dimensions of
the work. Inform us about the purchase origin of the work
and any kind of available documentation (purchase
receipts, certificates of authenticity, publications). One
of our operators will respond to you on the same day. We
guarantee maximum confidentiality and extreme
professionalism.
If you wish to purchase works by the painter: Contact us
and let us know your request. We will inform you about the
available works. We also offer the possibility to
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