Enrique Marty Spain, b. 1969

ENRIQUE MARTY (b. 1969, Salamanca, Spain) creates an expansive body of work that includes sculptures, paintings, watercolors, videos, and animations. Together, these works form an exploration of the human soul, delving into the complexities of human existence. Stylistically, Marty draws from the characteristics of amateur imagery, mass communication, and popular narrative techniques, while his approach is rooted in the continuous recording and reproduction of private experiences and everyday life. Rather than interpreting, the artist simply records, creating a kind of 'encyclopedia' of the so-called everyday—an intricate comédie humaine that includes both light moments and darker passages.

Marty's sculptures, in particular, serve as three-dimensional portraits, often based on molds of real people. Yet these sculptures transcend simple likenesses, incorporating doll-like features and elements drawn from the Western figurative sculptural tradition, including the Baroque. In this blending of the familiar and the unfamiliar, Marty challenges viewers to reconsider the ways in which we relate to the human form, identity, and the passage of time.

Enrique Marty’s distinctive approach first garnered significant attention in Spain with his solo exhibition La Familia at Espacio Uno, the Reina Sofia Museum’s space for young art in Madrid, in 2001. In 2004, Harald Szeemann selected him for The Real Royal Trip, an exhibition that introduced contemporary art from Spanish-speaking countries to the international scene. The show traveled from PS1 in New York to the Museo Patio Herreriano in Valladolid. Marty quickly became one of the most prominent figures in Spanish contemporary art, culminating in a sensational solo show at MUSAC in Leon in 2006 titled Flaschengeist / La Caseta del Alemàn, curated by Rafael Doctor Roncero.

Following this success, Marty’s first exhibition in Belgium took place in 2006 at Deweer Gallery, with Aim at the Brood!. His collaboration with Deweer Gallery continued with solo exhibitions at institutions such as GEM / Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (2008), Kunsthalle Mannheim (2010), and the Fundación Antonio Pérez in Cuenca, Spain (2011). His third solo show at Deweer, Sainte Guillotine, was presented in 2010, followed by the installation Art Is Dangerous at Art Brussels in 2011. In 2013, his fourth solo exhibition, Soft Cockney, was accompanied by an eponymous catalogue.

Marty also participated in several important group exhibitions, including the Venice Biennale in 2001 and 2005. He was featured in Spain. 1957-2007, an exhibition on Spanish post-war art at Palazzo Sant’Elia (Palermo, Italy), L'Art en Europe at Domaine Pommery (Reims, France, 2008), Spanish Video Art at ZKM in Karlsruhe (2008), and Hareng Saur – Ensor and Contemporary Art at S.M.A.K. and Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent (2010). In 2011, he joined the GOLD MINE exhibition, showcasing works from the collection of Sirje and Michael Gold at CSULB, Long Beach, USA.