Marcus Gurke (1996, Alkmaar, NL) is a Dutch artist living and working in Antwerp, Belgium.
Gurke’s practice explores how images emerge through the interaction between control and uncontrollable physical processes such as time, gravity, erosion and chance. Working primarily through painting and material-based interventions, he develops surfaces in which traces of transformation, instability and sedimentation remain visible within the work.
His paintings are built through layered processes of applying, diluting, removing and disrupting material. Rather than aiming for complete control over the image, Gurke creates conditions in which paint, surface and environment actively influence the final composition. Within these processes, atmosphere becomes both subject and condition: fog-like textures, traces of landscapes, light, emptiness and spatial transitions repeatedly appear throughout the work.
Recent works focus increasingly on material behaviour and spatial presence. Through muted palettes, weathered surfaces and vertical compositions, the works evoke states of stillness, erosion and temporal tension. The image is approached not as a fixed representation, but as something unstable — continuously shifting between appearance and disappearance, construction and decay.
By allowing physical forces and environmental conditions to participate in the creation of the work, Gurke’s practice examines how painting can function as a space where material, time and perception intersect.
Atmosphere becomes both subject and condition: fog-like textures, traces of landscapes, light, emptiness and spatial transitions repeatedly appear throughout the work.
Selected exhibitions
2026
Viewings ‘‘Atelier in Beeld - Open Studio Days’’, Kunst Werkt, at MORPHO Studio Stuivenberg, Antwerp, BE
2025
Commissioned Project ‘‘Wachttijd’’ at Breda Station with KOP, commissioned by NS and ProRail, Breda, NL
Group exhibition ‘‘Waterzooi’’, curated by Manon Raman, Gent, BE
Group exhibition ‘‘KunstGrillen’’, BarVIZart, Valkstraat 74, Wilrijk, Antwerp, BE
Group exhibition ‘‘First Bloom’’, Blueberry Gallery, The Pool, Sectie-C, Eindhoven, NL
2024
Group exhibition ‘‘Ferrie heeft een nieuwe fatbike’’, Drift, Breda, NL
Creative support commissioned by Groot Spraak, Solar Weekend Festival, Roermond, NL
20 paintings commissioned by Pakje Kunst, South of The Netherlands, NL
2023
Group exhibition ''Ontmoeten'', Galerie De Ploegh, Amersfoort, NL
Group exhibition ''θερμοπληξία', Heraklion, Crete, GR
2022
Group exhibition ''Stedelijke Kunstenaars VIII'', S-Hertogenbosch, NL
Group exhibition ''Zone'', ''Now Show 2022'', Graduation Show, St.Joost, Breda, NL
Group exhibition ''De kogel is door de kerk'', Cultuurnacht, Lutherse Kerk, Breda, NL
Concert ''Inside of a Piano Tableaux", composed by Marin Alexander, Manhattan, New York, USA
Art market ''Create for Ukraine'', Breda, NL
Group exhibition ''Wegens omstandigheden is er momenteel nog geen titel’', De Fabriek, Eindhoven, NL
2021
Group exhibition ''Best Before'', Breda, NL
2020
Group manifestation and exhibition, Breda, NL
Group manifestation and exhibition, Breda, NL
2019
Group exhibition ''In Samenwerking Met'', Breda, NL
Group manifestation and exhibition, Breda, NL
Commissions
2026
1 painting, private commission, Antwerp, BE
4 paintings commissioned by PowerQ, Rotterdam, NL
2025
2 paintings, private commission, Rotterdam, NL
5 paintings, private commission, Rotterdam, NL
2024
3 paintings, private commission, Delft, NL
2023
1 painting, private commission, Noord-Brabant, NL
2022
2 paintings, private commission, Noord-Brabant, NL
Grants
2024
Mondriaan Fonds Voucher
Nominations
2022-2023
St. Joost School of Art & Design; Atelierprijs Breda
Publications / Reviews
2025
BN DeStem, Tim van Laerhoven
Breda Vandaag, Hanneke Marcelis
2022
NRC Cultuur, Dirk Limburg
Brabants Dagblad, Robèrt van Linth
BK-Informatie, 2022-5, Xandra Nibbeling
Class of 2022, Avans Hogeschool
Lost Painters, Niek Hendrix
Kunst blijft een raadsel, Paul Voors
Residencies
2024
Artists Residency, Gerona, Catalonia, ES
2023
Artists Residency, Heraklion, Crete, GR
2022
Artists Residency, Lutherse Kerk, Breda, NL
Artists Residency, Eindhoven, NL
Available work
