The Canadian artist Marcel Dzama cannot stay in one lane. While studying art at the University of Manitoba in the mid-1990s, he played in bands, and lots of them. Among others, there was Professor Moriarty for heavy rock, Tumbleweed for country music and Danceatron for, well, dance music. That freewheeling spirit has continued throughout the 48-year-old’s career. Best known for his figurative drawings, Dzama also makes dioramas, puppets, costumes, stage designs, films, songs, fanzines and sculptures. He has collaborated with Spike Jonze, Maurice Sendak, Beck, Kim Gordon, Raymond Pettibon, Bob Dylan and the New York City Ballet. It’s a lot.
“I keep really bad hours,” he says blearily from his seaside house in Long Island, having just woken up. “I stayed up till five last night, finishing a new painting.” He has a charmingly gentle, unworldly quality. Being so prolific means that he needs reminding of what he’s done. “The titles I forget,” he apologises. “I’ll blame my memory on the pandemic.”
