Marc Nagtzaam (born 1968 in Helmond, the Netherlands; lives and works in Hoofdplaat) creates drawings in which reduction and excess exist in a delicate balance. Grids, patterns and fragments of language emerge intuitively and are layered repeatedly until a structure or composition presents itself. Out of a series of lines emerges an almost architectural pattern – at once rigorous and personal. The work bears the traces of concentrated labour: marks in the margins, repetition, nuance and subtle shifts.

In this process, Nagtzaam constantly engages with opposites: order and chance, preconceived rules and improvisation, abstraction and gesture, thought and emotion. These elements sometimes cancel each other out, at other times reinforce one another. The result is a space that continually reshapes itself without ever closing – a rhythm without closure, unfolding as a visual line of thought. The graphic structures and repetitions in his work recall minimal and conceptual aesthetics.

The drawings in this zine are digital collages, bringing together fragments, sketches, notes and geometric forms derived from found material. Arranged and recombined, these elements become carefully constructed compositions and new works in their own right. Nagtzaam has been working in this way since his 2015 publication Zeichnungen, a compilation of his drawings, or rather, as he calls them, “sketches of drawings”. The material was combined and printed in multiple layers using a Risograph machine.

In 1998, Nagtzaam co-founded Roma Publications with Roger Willems and Mark Manders, and continues to publish his books with them. Together with his partner Karin Herwegh, he also occasionally publishes sauf, a series of artist zines exploring different media, including sculpture and photography, and ways of bringing their distinct artistic practices together.

His work has been exhibited at De Vleeshal, Middelburg; Temporary Gallery, Cologne; Museum M, Leuven; Centraal Museum, Utrecht; S.M.A.K., Ghent; Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam; FRAC Bourgogne, Dijon; M HKA, Antwerp; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; The White, Tokyo; ProjecteSD, Barcelona; Barbara Seiler, Zurich; and Kajetan Gallery, Berlin.