I doubt, in fact, that it is possible to give a serious definition of art
— Marcel Broodthaers
Working across poetry, sculpture, film, publications, and exhibition display, the Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers (1924–1976) sought new ways to give language physical form while questioning how meaning is constructed. After two decades as a poet, he entered the visual arts in 1964 by embedding unsold copies of his poetry book Pense-Bête in plaster—an act that marked a decisive move from writing to making art. Over the next twelve years he developed an intensely conceptual mulit-media based practice that gave rise to the invention of his fictional Musée d’Art Moderne, Département des Aigles (1968–72), a landmark in rethinking the role of the museum itself.
Closely connected to contemporaries such as Joseph Beuys, Daniel Buren, and artists associated with Conceptual Art and Fluxus, Broodthaers helped shape what would become known as institutional critique. His career was cut short by his death in Cologne in 1976 at the age of 52, yet his influence continues to resonate among artists who examine systems of display, language, and cultural authority.
Broodthaers’ work has been shown at Documenta 10, 7 and 5, Kassel (1997, 1982, and 1972) and at the Venice Biennial (1980, 1978, and 1976). A retrospective was held at the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2016) and traveled to the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid (2016), ending at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (KNW), Düsseldorf (2017). Other notable solo exhibitions have been held at Kunsthaus Zürich (2023); WIELS, Brussels (2021); M HKA, Antwerp (2019); Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2018); S.M.A.K., Ghent (2018); Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2017); Fredericanum, Kassel (2015); Kunstmuseum Basel (2014); Museo d’Arte Moderna di Bologna (2012); and Kunstmuseum Winterthur (2012). Past retrospectives of Broodthaers’ work include those at the Walker Art Center (1989); Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles (1989); Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh (1989); Jeu de Paume, Paris (1991); the Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (2000); and Tate Gallery, London (1980).
Broodthaers’ work is held in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate, London; the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Bonnefanten Museum, Maastricht; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; among others.