Marie Bernard is a collaboration between Rotterdam NL based designer Masja van Deursen and artist Serge Game that started in 2017. The Dutch creative duo discuss the origins of their collaborative practice, explaining the ways they work together to create their vibrant works.
OTOMYS: What inspired the two of you to first collaborate and create Marie Bernard?
Marie Bernard: For two decades we journeyed into countless museums and galleries together, visiting hundreds of exhibitions throughout this period. Additionally, viewing and evaluating each others work is something we have done constantly. For the both of us, this process of evaluation became a necessity that fed our creativity and allowed us to stay sharp and objective. Discussing and engaging with art together was an organic and essential part of our individual practices, so it seemed only natural that we collaborate and collate our experiences as two distinct artists. In that light, Marie Bernard was a collaboration that was fated to happen.
OTOMYS: What is the process behind composing your colourful compositions?
Marie Bernard: Everything starts with a pair of scissors and coloured paper. Intuition is key here so we don't make any preliminary designs. We source our paper from different manufacturers which allows us to choose from a wide variety of tactile colours. Once we have completed a range of paper collages we decide which ones will translate into plywood. During that process, we embrace all imperfections that may be present in the paper collages and transfer them to the plywood works. Mixing and then applying the paint is the most time-consuming aspect. We stay close to the original paper designs, but sometimes small adjustments in colour have to be made because the painted wood has a different 'feel' to coloured paper.
OTOMYS: Where does the name Marie Bernard come from?
Marie Bernard: Since we were both born into catholic families in the South of The Netherlands, we were given several names at our baptism. By using the names we were given at our baptism we were able to stay close to ourselves whilst still creating a new identity for our collaboration. We still have a few names to spare for any future projects too…
OTOMYS: What does the future have installed for Marie Bernard? How do you see your collaboration evolving?
Marie Bernard: We have a couple of things cooking at the moment. First of all, we have been doing research into how we would approach painting on canvas. There is this urge we have to make large paintings that create an illusion of occupying little space within a room. This would allow us to experiment with some new techniques which we love to do. Bernard brings along almost 30 years of experience as a painter which we will definitely be drawing from.
Also, we ventured into making three-dimensional sculptures about 18 months ago. We are now looking to expand on one of these preliminary works and create an extended family of work based on it. It's all still in a preliminary phase, but we are already very excited about where it will take us.
Photo by Sophia van den Hoek.
July 5, 2023
