Maruani Mercier | Galleries

HISTORY

Founded in 1995, MARUANI MERCIER represents 20 contemporary artists alongside its program of museum-quality historical exhibitions, whilst continuing to build on the legacy of several renowned estates. Showing established artists alongside young and emerging new talent, the gallery promotes dialogue across generations and continents. Initially, the gallery’s program focused on celebrated American artists from the 1980s who sought to reflect the aesthetic and social concerns of their time. This includes Ross Bleckner, Francesco Clemente, Ron Gorchov, Peter Halley, Jonathan Lasker, and Sue Williams. Over the years, the gallery looked to a new generation of artists who, working within different media, also address topical subjects relating to history, politics, the environment, as well as questions of identity and authorship. Amongst these, Radcliffe Bailey, Esiri Erheriene-Essi, and Hank Willis Thomas examine topics surrounding Black history and culture whilst Lyle Ashton Harris looks at societal constructs of sexuality and race. Jaclyn Conley´s nostalgic paintings present a poignant rumination on the socio-political concerns of American life, whilst Tony Matelli confronts themes of isolation and impermanence with humor and irony. In 2001, MARUANI MERCIER opened an additional gallery in Knokke, followed by a 15,000 sq ft exhibition space and artist residency in Zaventem called THE WAREHOUSE in 2018. This expansion heralded a vanguard of artists from West Africa including Cornelius Annor, Kwesi Botchway, and Johnson Eziefula who have participated in the residency program. Their inclusion in the gallery’s already versatile program ensures further engagement with the ever-changing canon of art history.

ARTISTS