Marius Ritiu
Marius Ritiu is a sculptor, painter and storyteller whose practice questions the concepts of nationality, borders and nationalism. Ritiu's work often features copper as the physical material that connects the world. Copper is also important in the artist's practice because of its philosophical connotations, based on the association of chemical elements with human history and the cosmos through alchemy. The technological applications of the material in communication and transport have enabled the mobility of ideas, goods and people, thereby influencing the nature and physical character of borders. Marius Ritius' own experience as a travelling artist anchors his practice, and his work reveals itself as a quest to understand and express the global through the local, the familiar through the unfamiliar. In addition to his renown in Belgium, Marius Ritius has a broad international oeuvre. In 2019, he received the Socrates Sculpture Park Fellowship in New York, which led to his international recognition and the realisation of various exhibitions in Europe and the US, as well as the completion of two residencies at the International Studio & Curatorial Programme in New York. His works were commissioned by various institutions, including the Middelheim Museum (Antwerp) and De Warande (Turnhout). The work “Somewhere under the Sky” was on display for three months in the garden of the Cathedral of Our Lady in Antwerp during the art walk “Finis Terrae” (2022).
