Marcel Dzama: Empress of Night a nocturnal surrealist allegory at David Zwirner Gallery

Marcel Dzama: Empress of Night
David Zwirner Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
June 28—August 8, 2025

Video by L.A. Art Documents / www.laartdocuments.com
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https://www.davidzwirner.com/

Dzama’s recent works are fantastical visions of a lush and at-times flooded world where anthropomorphized animals and dancing figures are set against dense junglescapes and expansive skies. References to Francisco Goya and surrealist poet Federico García Lorca (1898–1936)—one of Spain's most important and celebrated writers—are evident throughout these compositions, suggesting parallels between the war-torn and uncertain eras in which those artists lived and the political, social, and ecological upheavals of our own. Some works make direct reference to the rise of authoritarianism in the world today, while others use allegory as a critical means of commenting on growing threats to democracy and human rights. Dzama made these works late at night—as is his nocturnal working style—and many are set against dark skies that contain celestial visions of stars and moons. Evoking a sense of joy and wonder, these nightscapes suggest hope and possibility even during times of unrest.