The Marcel Mariën Foundation was created on September 1, 2017, on the initiative of several experts in Surrealism, including Sarah Whitfield and Xavier Canonne. By bearing the name of one of Belgium’s most emblematic surrealists, it aims to give Marcel Mariën his rightful place.

In accordance with the surrealist approach, Marïen refuses classifications, once declaring that he might not be an artist. His oeuvre is varied and prolific: Marcel Marïen is a writer and a poet, a photographer and a film maker, a painter, a draughtsman, a collagist, a sculptor.

The first project carried by the Marcel Mariën Foundation is the realization of a Catalogue Raisonné of his work, freely available via the tab “THE CATALOGUE RAISONNÉ” of this website.

Marcel Mariën was also an active archivist, historian and publisher of the surrealist movement in Belgium. He has largely contributed to its preservation by publishing and promoting the works and writings of its members. The Marcel Mariën Foundation aims to encourage the rediscovery of this precious legacy.

On a wider scale, the foundation’s ambition is to facilitate the study of and promote Surrealism in Belgium through exhibitions, publications, colloquia and the development of a research and documentation centre.

We hope that the Marcel Mariën Foundation will be a milestone in the study of one of Belgium’s most interesting cultural heritages.

 

Furthermore, a collection of monographic books devoted to each surrealist artist is in progress, as well as a collection of re-editions of rare and precious works. Finally, surrealist aphorisms and poetry will be promoted in a pocket collection

Because the Marcel Mariën Foundation is dedicated to promote the artist’s oeuvre, the organisation of exhibitions will be a privileged activity both nationally and internationally.

We are currently working on several exhibition projects, including a retrospective of Marcel Mariën, an exhibition on surrealist photography and one dedicated to Surrealism in Belgium.

The Foundation’s Documentation Centre collects books, archives and other documents to be used by scholars for scientific research.

The Marcel Mariën Foundation will organize conferences and symposiums on members of Belgian Surrealism and on the movement in general.