Cruel beauty

The sculptures by Marliz Frencken appear to originate from a surreal world. They consist of female figurines which are fairytale-like, fragile and precious - and each and every one is unique. At first sight these radiant, eyecatching,colourful sculptures are reminiscent of glazed fruits at a fun fair that spark a childish design to grab them. Frencken adorns her clay figures with curious found items and wraps them up in transparent synthetic resin. Each of the sculptures,regardless of whether they are quietly immersed in thought or ecstatically twisting their bodies, tells its own story. Frencken creates in her sculpture a highly imaginative cosmos in which anything is possible. For example, she provides a slender beauty in a red and white checked dress with an arm reaching right down to the ground - or alternatively places, say, a disco ball, a porcelain bowl or an egg shell on the heads of her creations.