Marcel Vidal

Marcel Vidal is a contemporary artist known for his sculptures and photorealistic paintings.

Biography of Marcel Vidal

Marcel Vidal was born in 1986 in Dublin, Ireland. From 2005 to 2009, he studied at the National College of Art & Design in Dublin. 

In 2019, the artist was honored with the Hennessy Craig Award and the Golden Fleece Award. Vidal's work was also featured in the book "100 Sculptors of Tomorrow," published by Thames & Hudson.

Vidal's artworks have been featured in numerous solo and two-person exhibitions, including "05:09:12" at Nag Gallery in Dublin, Ireland; "#untitled" at Basic Space in Dublin, Ireland; "Everybody Knows, Marcel Vidal & Paul Hallahan" at The Complex Dublin in Ireland; "Stuck on dawn" at Kerlin Gallery in Dublin, and many others.

He has also participated in numerous group shows, including "WORKHEAD" at NCAD Gallery in Dublin, Ireland (2012); "ARTWORKS" at Carlow Arts Festival, Selected by Annie Fletcher & Claire Feeley (2016); "Island Life" at Kevin Kavanagh Gallery in Dublin, Ireland (2018); "The Hennessy Craig Award Exhibition" at Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, Ireland (2019); "Wayward Eye" at Temple Bar Gallery Studios in Dublin, Ireland (2021); "GENERATION 2022: New Irish Painting" at Butler Gallery in Kilkenny, Ireland (2022), and many more.

Currently, Marcel Vidal lives in Dublin, where he continues to work. 

Marcel Vidal's Art Style

Using personal photographs alongside images sourced from the internet, Marcel Vidal produces photorealistic paintings that delve into the intricacies of representation within today's image-driven culture. Vidal frequently incorporates his paintings into sculptural installations, imbuing them with qualities that range from assertive and enigmatic to ritualistic.

Vidal's paintings are distinguished by their meticulous brushwork, delicately layering oil on linen with precision. These pieces exude refinement and restraint, embodying vividly illuminated fragments of photographs or digital visuals. Unidentified figures appear caught in the glare of flashbulbs, their arms defensively positioned; glossy leaves capture the light before fading into shadows; distinguished hands are frozen mid-clap. Vidal's minimal compositions are intentionally cropped to unveil only a fragment of the subject, employing ambiguity to challenge interpretation while simultaneously piquing our curiosity.

On the other hand, Vidal's sculptures embrace textures and materials that are both contrasting and confrontational: furs, feathers, and deer hooves combined with assembled wood, concrete, and industrial metal hardware. Chains, spikes, and devices for pest prevention are incorporated for attack or defense, mirroring the hostility present in urban environments and inner-city structures. Within these sculptures, small, self-contained watercolor paintings often reside, challenging the dominance of their surroundings.

In Vidal's latest creations, his sculptural assemblages have expanded beyond their previous boundaries, evolving into immersive environments that engage in a profound conversation with the history, architecture, and symbolism of their surroundings. Gallery walls receive a wash of matte black spray paint, while floors are adorned with synthetic grass, generating unforeseen and intriguing shifts in space. These visually captivating sculptural environments establish a dynamic interplay between the organic and the engineered, the threatening and the fetishistic, the vital and the macabre.