PRESS RELEASE
Once Upon a Time…A look at art in Belgium in the Nineties.
20.12.03 – 29.02.04
In Belgium, contemporary visual art has not long been a public factor. Since its international
breakthrough and mediatisation in the period 1986-1992, numerous new artists came on the
artistic scene, but never before did an exhibition set out to present an overview of it.
Characteristic for a retrospective of art within a well-defined period are the various starting
points from which this view can be sketched. This goes for any random indication in the
history of art, not only for the Nineties. The viewpoint may be the trends which started during
the previous period and which evolved further in the period under consideration. The
viewpoint may also start from the superficial picture of the period itself. What was collected
in the Nineties and by whom? What were the platforms, which artists were paid attention in
the media and were the subject of major polemics by art critics? And finally the view may
start from your own Zeitgeist; thus in 2003 you can look back at the past decade. From a
future perspective, the 'modern' picture of a decade may then start to look completely
different than from a contemporary perspective.
The new developments, which will be found to be representative in the year 2010, will then
determine the view of the Nineties of the last century. Thus our view of art of the end of the
19th century is mainly shaped by the breakthrough of the 20th-century avant-garde. These
contrary artists were then a minority whose representativeness and collection value were
thought to be very doubtful at that time, both by museums and private collectors.
With this in mind, it is obvious that a first attempt – in 2003 - to present art in Belgium in the
Nineties is not only a fascinating, but also a controversial task. The MuHKA makes a
proposal which does not want to be reductionistic. Neither can the picture be definitive or
complete. That is the reason why it is not an 'overall picture', but a consciously relative and
era-related view, a proposal for further discussion. Hence "Once Upon a Time…A look at
art…". Efforts were made to keep this view as wide as possible and to have the various
starting points come to the fore. Thus, special cooperation came about between Guillaume
Bijl, an established artist of the previous generation, a major contemporary collector and
Maecenas of the Nineties, i.e. Cera Foundation, and the MuHKA, which as a museum of
contemporary art attempts to interpret the latest trends.
The presentation is signed by Guillaume Bijl. The fact that he is co-curator is a reminder that
new artists are not always brought in by curators or collectors. It is often done by other
artists by way of an introduction, a suggestion or mutual encouragement. As an established
fact, this is certainly not typically modern. The starting point for Guillaume Bijl is not the style
of his own oeuvre, but his wide spectrum as a visiting professor at various institutes, as
someone with a commitment to the situation of other artists - among others through the
NICC - and as a curator of a number of exhibitions with younger artists. The individuality of
one's own expression and the development of one's own expressive language are especially
important to Guillaume Bijl.
The starting point was the collection of Cera Foundation. Cera is a foundation with a social
remit and activities in six areas: the fight against poverty, agriculture and horticulture, the
environment, education and training/entrepreneurship, the medical-social field, art and
culture, and cooperative banking and insurance in the third world. In the field of art and
culture, Cera developed very extensive patronage activities around contemporary visual art
in Belgium in the past five years. In supporting young artists, works were acquired or a
return was requested in the shape of works of art. A selection from this collection was
supplemented with works that are not (yet) represented in the collection, on the basis of the
recently published book "Decennium/ Kunst in België na Documenta IX" ("Decade. Art in
Belgium after Documenta IX").
For all these reasons it is not surprising that very diverse work by many different artists is
exhibited, which shows the variety of multiple angles of approach. The media image of art in
the Nineties is largely dominated by the further development and international recognition of
artists who are now considered to be representative for the new trends of the Eighties. The
main aim of the retrospective in the MuHKA is to focus attention on the new proposals of the
Nineties.
This image seems to be mainly characterised by a multitude of strategies and media.
Universality and generalisations are no longer sought for. Artists work in a concrete way and
often use their own living environment or the media that form this environment as the basis.
In this connection, the experience of the spatial and sensual character of the living
environment as well as the particular experience of its social dimension are investigated.
Initially, Guillaume Bijl wanted to organise the exhibition on the basis of the various artistic
media. This also reveals the still vast range of artistic ways of expression, even if we
sometimes have the impression that contemporary art virtually only involves installations and
new media. In this exhibition, art is not only supported by video and photographs, but
paintings and sculptures also get a place of honour, and drawings – often overlooked in all
this power - are not forgotten either.
The presentation may definitively kick-start discussion and reflection on the visual arts in
Belgium in the Nineties.
With:
Herman Asselberghs, Sven Augustijnen, Orla Barry, Charif Benhelima, Dirk Braeckman, Wim
Catrysse, David Claerbout, Anne Daems, Sergio De Beuckelaer, Manon De Boer, Berlinde De
Bruyckere, Jan De Cock, Anne Decock Van Raef, Peter De Cupere, Koen De Decker, Koenraad
Dedobbeleer, Jos De Gruyter, Robert Devriendt, Els Dietvorst, Honoré δ’O, Niels Donckers, Eric
Duyckaerts, Christoph Fink, Pierre Gérard, Vincent Geyskens, Johan Grimonprez, Ann Veronica
Janssens, Jan Kempenaers, Emilio López-Menchero, Sylvie Macias-Diaz, Valérie Mannaerts,
Messieurs Delmotte, Willem Oorebeek, Hans Op de Beeck, Els Opsomer, Gert Robijns, Peter
Rogiers, Johan Tahon, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Christophe Terlinden, Frank Theys, Koen Theys,
Harald Thys, Sven ’t Jolle, Ana Torfs, Joëlle Tuerlinckx, Guy Van Bossche, Caroline Van Damme,
Maarten Vanden Abeele, Koen Van den Broek, Patrick Van den Eynde, Jan Van Imschoot,
Richard Venlet, Angel Vergara Santiago, Gert Verhoeven, Pieter Vermeersch, Rony Vissers
Bart De Baere on “Once Upon a Time... A look at art in Belgium in the
Nineties”
'Once upon a time …' is the first attempt to create a picture of the artistic proposals which
appeared in Belgium in the Nineties. Such a look is disputable anyway. The more so in this
context. In the period between 1986 and 1992, the visual arts in these regions boomed. Its context
was simultaneously popularised and internationalised. This image of art has percolated through to
the present day. New artist's positions were added, but without redesigning the wider picture
towards the present.
One and a half years ago, there was a first reflection on the conclusion of a period of Cera
Foundation's deep commitment to contemporary art in Belgium, in which I was involved as
adviser. A number of matters seemed to be self-evident.
The first of these was publishing a catalogue of the works of art that Cera had acquired in this
period. However, that meant that the focus would be on the foundation, which is not the idea. We
decided to make a move again which might be useful for the artists to whom we had committed
ourselves.
The arts debate in Flanders is at an obviously higher level now than ten years ago. Yet there has
been remarkably little thought about the possible consequences of art in that period with regard to
its own tradition. There are more good monograph texts than before, an institutional critique is
under way and there has been reflection on art as such, but there is no image from art to link all
this. With Decade we aspired to stimulate a discussion on the subject.
A second 'self-evidence' was the public presentation of the collection. In the first instance, I
proposed to have this presentation in Brussels, the city with the most internationalised
contemporary art scene in Belgium, but few locations where this is perceptible. Cera did not find a
suitable co-organiser there.
So the question was sent back to the MuHKA again. Showing evolutions within the arts scene is
one of the tasks that we as a museum should busy ourselves with. This is not only stated by
leading artists who dedicated themselves intensely to their younger colleagues – such as
Guillaume Bijl or Luc Tuymans who positioned the NICC. I also heard this analysis from Jan
Vercruysse, who always stood for a very strict judgement of and an exclusive approach to art.
When appropriate, museums should present overview exhibitions in which young artists are put in
the spotlight, so that new commitments can develop from this.
On the basis of these considerations, we as MuHKA went along.
We decided to have a dual exhibition in Antwerp and in Liege, a city where the foundation had
attempted in vain to make an institutional difference in cooperation with the university there.
For Liege, it became the objective to make the artists' domain visual for the public in Liege, in the
hope to instigate the policy to greater efforts for contemporary art. This intention was coupled with
the exhibition of artists from previous generations, to which Cera has also committed itself.
In Antwerp, the set-up was similar to that of the 'Decade' book. The selections were changed
slightly. In Decade, Eran Schaerf and Luc Tuymans were present as artists who were in
Documenta, but whose artistic importance was only recognised at a later stage. They were left out
for Antwerp.
Since we feel that the moment for a synthesis has not yet arrived, we opted for making this picture
explicitly relative and specific. Based on this intention, Guillaume Bijl was invited to take care of
the presentation and act as co-curator.
The result developed in the process between these parties, their limits, attention points and
priorities. In its appearance it eludes each of those involved, even if each of them is committed to
it. Such a working method has its advantages and disadvantages. Rather than a discourse, a
texture is created in which numerous matters play a part. For this time this approach seemed
desirable, because it is not the intention to conclude, but to induce further consideration. We hope
that the visitors will not only be present as viewers, but also as speakers and deciders.
In any case, limits are unavoidable in this kind of overview. The presence or absence of artists,
the way in which they are presented, the degree to which artistic formats come to the fore… Limits
differentiate a proposal. They force questioning and making further considerations. Also because
of the concerted action, hopefully there are a number of initial lines which may be continued, not
forgotten but not too thematic either. Examples include the significant presence in the Brussels
region of artists from other countries of the European community, artists of African origin who live
in Belgium, sound works, installations, the cooperation mentioned by Denis Gielen in his text for
Millennium, work in the shape of mass media, site-specific work … all of this is only touched on
there.
The first and probably most important series of such differentiation are a result of the starting
point, the collection of works of art which Cera Foundation brought together in the last five years
as a result of its visual arts activities. It is not a collection in the conventional sense, since there
was no synthetic intention. Cera did not want to acquire key works. It was looking for the
possibility to support artists and asked for a return, so that the commitment to art became
permanently embedded.
Sometimes those 'correct returns' have meanwhile appeared to be phenomenal investments, as is
the case with David Claerbout, whose early video work is virtually completely owned by Cera, or
with the ensemble by Joëlle Tuerlinckx. Often they diverge from the 'standard image' we have of
an artist. For this reason, however, they also reveal dimensions of art which are often forgotten in
a synthesis, the significance of drawings for example.
A second major impulse was the museum, which did not want to present the Cera collection, but
wished to make a "catch-up" move towards the Nineties. Special attention was paid to the field of
image media – increasingly difficult to distinguish from 'classic' art – for which the MuHKA opted
structurally by its merger with the Centre for Image Culture.
Guillaume Bijl also had a decisive impact. He was not only the advocate for a number of artists; in
particular he made powerful choices for the presentation. He wanted transparent coherent works,
which is an advantage when the viewers see so many different artists together in an exhibition. He
thought that one single work per artist would suffice. He was attentive to the presence of artists,
but rejected uniformity. He took the various media into account but also looked for maximum
variation. And he finally brought all the different lines together spatially, whereby he did not
position himself as an artist but as a very attentive, involved presenter, with attention for decorum
and for art.
Bart De Baere
Guillaume Bijl on “Once Upon a Time... A look at Art in Belgium in the
Nineties”
As an artist, I have acted already several times as a guest curator for young art in Belgium in
the Nineties and have always committed myself to young artists in general, both at an artistic
and social level. For these reasons, the Cera Foundation invited me to set up an exhibition
from their collection as co-curator.
In the last few years, this collection has been put together by the Cera Foundation as a kind
of Maecenas. Since this collection is still very young and therefore incomplete, Bart De
Baere and I decided to give a kind of visual overview of new positions in the art of the
Nineties. Therefore, we went a long way in possible supplements and also exhibit much
which is not present in the collection. For this purpose, we used the recently published book
"Decade. Art in Belgium after Documenta IX" as a second source. We also consulted a
number of artists.
This exhibition attempts to present an as broad as possible spectrum of new positions of
artists who were first paid attention in the Nineties. We do not have the pretension of offering
a complete historical overview, hence the subtitle "A look at ...".
We cannot speak of a new trend or school, but we may talk about individual originality,
linking up with art abroad, where many of the artists in this exhibition have already found a
platform. What we find in the Nineties is the enormous rise of the new media in art, as the
main form or as a sideline. Photography also became a much used, recognised and
expressive medium. At the same time, there was a revival in the art of painting. Former
sculptors became installation artists.
Yet we opted for transparent and surveyable works of art. In fact, we wanted to have as
many artist's positions in the exhibition as possible and we wanted visitors to be able to
approach each work as such.
Evaluation of the historical relevance of this exhibition will only be possible in the next
decade. Another generation on the brink of that new decade is already revealing itself...
Guillaume Bijl
Exhibition folder
Once upon a time… A look at art in Belgium in the Nineties.
20 December 2003 – 29 February 2004
With Once upon a time… the MuHKA presents a look at art in Belgium in the Nineties. A
decade is depicted of which there is not really a picture yet: it is still very close to us and an
overview has not yet been presented, and also for these reasons the public image is still
incoherent. This is further enhanced by the fact that the public image of art in the Nineties
was largely dominated by artists who were already active in the Eighties and had a
breakthrough at that time: they were the focus and they largely overshadowed the new
generation.
The Eighties were indeed very important for contemporary art in Belgium. On the one hand,
the support of contemporary art was greatly enlarged within a relatively short period, also
because it became more visible to the audience at large. For example, Antwerp saw the
foundation of the MuHKA which explicitly started to concentrate on national art; in Gent the
Chambres d’Amis exhibition literally brought art into the living room and onto the television
screen. On the other hand, Belgian artists had a convincing breakthrough abroad. Belgian
art, artists and exhibition makers became beloved guests and were widely applauded. Artists
such as Guillaume Bijl, Raoul De Keyser, Thierry De Cordier, Wim Delvoye, Jan Fabre,
Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, Jan Vercruysse and – somewhat later – Luc Tuymans belong to
this group. These 'tenors' are the ones who were going to keep on getting the public's
attention in the years to come.
In the Nineties, these artists evolved and came increasingly to the fore. At the same time,
new artists appeared on the scene: new art developed, new positions arose which were,
however, added to the prevailing image rather than redesigning it according to their
measure. Once upon a time… focuses on these artists and their oeuvres, on the generation
of the Nineties.
These artists cannot be lumped together; their individuality is the main eye-catcher. What
seems to be a link at first glance is (critical) reflection: they are aware of the (art) context and
often perform thought-out actions with regard to society, economic reality, the social fabric,
communication, everyday reality, public or exhibition space, the world of art, the conventions
of art, observation, the viewer, etc. In other words, art itself – as in the previous period – is a
rewarding subject, but life is paid increasing attention as well. Since the ego is frequently the
starting point for artistic investigation, this leads to subjective, personal, sometimes very
familiar and at other times very poetic art. Photography, video, audio and installations
become more and more important means of expression, but the 'old' media are still being
used – headed by the art of painting. 'Work in progress' and multi- and interdisciplinarity
occupy a special place in the Nineties as well.
In spite of this individuality and diversity, we find an exceptional number of cooperative
associations, movements and communal artists' projects. This was brought about by the
limited opportunities and support for art and artists, which posed a particular problem for
young art. One of the most striking movements is the one which in 1998 resulted in the
foundation of the artists' organisation NICC (New International Cultural Centre). The closure
of the I.C.C. (International Cultural Centre) in Antwerp, one of the few structural sites for
contemporary art at that time, mobilised an exceptional multitude of established and starting
artists who made a stand for their rights. By founding the NICC, they created for the first time
an organisation which was to work on their behalf for more space and opportunities for
visual art(ists) and which was to start the dialogue with the authorities as one single voice.
The recent development of the artist's social status is one of the first principal achievements
of the NICC.
Because of the many needs in the sector, in 1998 Cera Foundation started very extensive
patronage activities to support contemporary art in Belgium. Cera Foundation fleshes out the
social remit set by Cera Holding, a financial group on a cooperative basis, and is active in
the six areas: the fight against poverty; agriculture, horticulture and the environment;
education and training/entrepreneurship; medical-social; art and culture; cooperative
banking and insurance in the third world.
In the first five years of its activities in the field of art and culture, Cera Foundation mainly
paid attention to the theme of contemporary visual art, since it considered that there the
needs were greatest. On the one hand, older artists who did not get deserved recognition
were supported, for example by starting a series of monographs devoted to them. On the
other hand, there was support for new artists from the Nineties who had not yet secured a
position and who could do with a boost. This support came in various forms – a publication,
an exhibition, a grant, an acquisition – and the Cera collection originated as a kind of 'side
effect' of these commitments to individual artists. The support of Cera Foundation for the
NICC is also characteristic; this made it possible to have a solicitor work on the dossier of
the artist's status for two years.
This first patronage period is now reviewed and reflected through publications, exhibitions
and colloquia. The more 'classic' artists, together with the current Liege scene, come to the
fore in the MAMAC in Liege and the 'new crop' is exhibited in the MuHKA.
Since the Cera collection was not put together systematically, it shows a number of obvious
gaps. It was therefore decided to take a selection from this collection as the basis for Once
upon a time… and to supplement it with work by artists who are not (yet) represented in the
collection. It is typical for the Cera collection – and it is also reflected in the exhibition – that
the emphasis was not on 'great' or major works: there is a place for less well-known sides of
an artist and for smaller work.
The Antwerp artist Guillaume Bijl was invited to put his view of art in Belgium in the Nineties
alongside that of Cera Foundation and the MuHKA: museum, Maecenas and artist who look
back at a decade together. The option to involve an older and established artist precisely in
this project is logical: it is often forgotten that older artists play such an important role in the
careers of young artists. They are the ones who are generally aware of new talent and who
provide that talent with the first introductions. Guillaume Bijl is certainly very active in this
field. The conversation between the three views – the MuHKA's, Cera Foundation's and
Guillaume Bijl's – resulted in a kaleidoscopic exhibition.
The exhibition does not pretend to offer an overview of the visual arts in Belgium in the
Nineties, but a look at it. It would be impossible to provide a synthesis of something which
has not been analysed yet. Once upon a time… is rather a first attempt to visualise the
decade, to map the diversity in artistic proposals and positions. The multitude of applied
media is emphatically present in the exhibition: videos, photographs, drawings, paintings,
objects etc. There is a conscious divergence from the cliché of contemporary (multimedia)
installations in order to provide room for diversity. In addition, assembling the most different
starting points, angles of approach and artists' views was opted for. Once upon a time…
wants to instigate, open up the field and definitively start the discussion and thinking on
visual art in Belgium in the Nineties: once upon a time...
Marijke Van Eeckhaut
new presentation of the collection (VI)
29.11.03-15.02.04
A collection does not tell one large story, but several partial ones; it can be looked at from
different angles. For this reason, MuHKA opts to show its collection of international
contemporary art (from 1970 onwards) in regularly changing constellations, rather than in
one allegedly ‘ideal’ version, more or less like a series in which each chapter resonates with
a different voice.
In the sixth chapter, which will be presented in the winter, it is mainly the view of the artists
invited for the interventions which gives the story a different twist. The selection and
presentation of the works of art was decided in consultation with the artists, since (certain of)
their interventions have a direct 'impact' on the collection. For example, special attention is
given to the work by Guy Mees, Joseph Kosuth and Ann Veronica Janssens.
Also included are works by: Christian Boltanski, Michael Druks, Craigie Horsfield, Thomas
Ruff, Anthony Cragg, Richard Baquié, Alan Charlton, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Anish Kapoor,
Anatoli Osmolovski, Martin Kippenberger, Giulio Paolini, Marina Abramovic, Richard Deacon
etc.
interventions
in the period 29.11.03-15.02.04
In addition to large-scale exhibitions on the ground floor and the attention which its collection
receives, MuHKA also engages in more modest, but hence not less important projects with
artists who are being invited to ‘intervene’ in the presentation of the collection, to literally
‘take a stand’ in the latter and to engage in a dialogue between their own work and works
from the collection. Such interventions may have a laboratory function, both for the artist
who is enabled to try out something and for the museum as an institution; moreover, it offers
the opportunity to the public to sense the very heartbeat of contemporary art.
Iñaki Bonillas
Little History of Photography
The artistic practice of the young Mexican artist Iñaki Bonillas (º1981, Mexico City) is firmly
rooted in the orthodox tradition of the conceptual art of the Seventies and betrays a
remarkably mature sensitivity to the luminous architectural qualities of gallery and museum
space, light and colour. A museum collection including works by Gordon Matta-Clark, Dan
Graham and James Turrell therefore seems the dreamed-of biotope for his 'intervention’.
Photography – or rather the technique of photography – is often the basis for Bonillas’
conceptual operation and reflections, and through the medium of photography he questions
the status and essence of photographic technique and image production. His works of art
pose the question of the (im)possibilities of photographic representation – can I photograph
photography as such? Is photography capable of self-examination?
For his exhibition annex ‘intervention’ in the MuHKA, Bonillas developed the project Little
History of Photography; whereby the title refers to the famous article by Walter Benjamin on
the ‘revolutionary’ innovation of photography as a technology of endlessly reproducible
image production. At the same time, a marked personal touch creeps into Little History of
Photography, which we do not immediately associate with the rigorous conceptual tradition.
In fact, the work consists of a photographic archive of some 630 slides in which the family
history and the personal past of the artist are depicted; the thirty light boxes on which the
slides are exhibited correspond to the thirty photo albums the artist inherited from his
grandmother. In this work, the artist does not only honour the eccentric spirit of his
grandfather, who taught him an unusual love of photography. At the same time, he stages
the photographic panorama of his life story as a collection of 'images' – pseudo-scientifically,
as an archive, just as museums like. Iñaki Bonillas thus comments on the hardly separable
combined action of private and less private considerations hiding behind any collection,
whether they consist of works of art or butterflies or photo albums. His Little History of
Photography is a museum in the museum.
The dramatic quality of this monumental intervention is of course further enhanced by a
second intervention, which the artist realised in close cooperation with 'light man' Jef Dubois.
A dozen theatre spotlights illuminate the works flanking Bonillas’ photographic archive in the
balcony room and break the regimental lighting elsewhere in the museum. This spotlighting
obviously lends additional relief to the selected works and underlines again the 'theatrical'
museum quality of Bonillas’ Little History of Photography as a sarcophagus of memories.
The work of Iñaki Bonillas was already on view at the Galerie Meert Rihoux, Brussels, 2003;
Galería de Arte Mexicano, Mexico City, 2002; Galeria Boedone, Milaan, 2001 (solo) and in
group exhibitions in Arnhem/Sonsbeek, Berlin, New York, Toronto, San Diego and Venice.
Gabriel Kuri
start to stop stopping
The oeuvre of the Mexican artist Gabriel Kuri (º1970, Mexico City) starts from the dual basis
of an unmistakable 'Latin' pop sensitivity on the one hand and a profound passion for the
ethics and aesthetics, magic, poetry and rituals of everyday life on the other.
In his sensitivity to the formal qualities and the enticing, ephemeral aesthetics of that socalled 'Latin Pop', his works inevitably shows similarities with that of his namesake and
compatriot Gabriel Orozco, as well as with that of the Brazilian ‘school’ (Clark, Oiticica,
Tunga). This sensitivity also comes to the fore in the following works: Pressed Cable, the
perforated plastic bag hung on a washing line, and Reclaimed Entropy, the bunch of artificial
flowers wrapped in an insulating blanket set up in front of Michelangelo Pistoletto’s ‘mirror
picture’. (Perhaps the snoring neighbour in Martin Kippenberger's Neigbourhood’s Nap was
lulled into sleep by the unbearable lightness of Latin being?)
However, in this intervention in the museum collection, what might be called the
'sozialplastik' perspective of Gabriel Kuri’s artistic practice – his interest in the prosaic artistic
side effects of everyday human intercourse, work and activity – is far more important. His
intervention in the MuHKA collection also reveals an authentic fascination for the everyday
life of the arts, for the way in which the museum 'organises' itself as a social organism and,
curiously enough, also contains backstage the potential of art and the 'beautiful' behind it.
Four hand-woven tapestries flank a work by Joseph Kosuth; two of these were modelled on
the example of a discount voucher for sanitary articles (in Dutch, a language which the artist
obviously does not master); the other two were created on the basis of simple cash tickets
from Mexican supermarkets. Opposite the tapestries there is a wall painting – ironically,
exactly the form of art for which Mexico is so well known. At first glance, it rather resembles
a classic conceptual work of art; more so even than in those by Kosuth, Sol LeWitt's ghost is
abroad here. However, on further consideration it appears to involve a duty roster blown up
to monumental proportions, which will be used every day by the museum's cleaning team.
Or, for that matter, just like the washbasin on the right of the wall painting, which was taken
from behind the screens of the museum to remind the visitor that the museum is not only a
place of hallowed silence and well-mannered contemplation. It is in fact as much a workshop
as any other, with its own economic directives and infrastructure realities. The artist offers
the duty roster as an (irrevocably aesthetic) instrument; the cleaners fill in the roster and
thus contribute to the success of the work of art – they are as it were co-authors. The
washing machine – which originates from the museum's boiler room and just works as an
appliance in its new place as well – does not 'disrupt' the established order of the museum
presentation either. The physical presence of tubes, pipes, and running water does not only
complement the stasis of Joëlle Tuerlinckx’s Glass of Water and Guy Mees’ ethereal paper
works. It is also a metaphor for human intercourse, distribution, entropy and transport;
constants from which the museum, like all other segments of the 'economy', derives its
raison d'être or which is at least its mainstay. The installations with cleaning products,
tableaux vivants annex objets trouvés, aspire to break the antiseptic silence of traditional
experience of art and open the space of art to what in English is so appreciatively called the
'hustle and bustle' or the 'nitty and gritty' of daily life. Therefore, Gabriel Kuri's intervention
not only brings the collection to life, but the entire museum as well – albeit in an unorthodox,
even seemingly disrespectful way.
Gabriel Kuri exhibited in Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, 2002; Kurimanzutto, Mexico City,
2003; Museo de las Artes de Guadalajara, Mexico City, 1999 (solo) and in group exhibitions
in Arnhem/Sonsbeek, NICC/Antwerpen, Chicago, New York, Venice and Vienna.
Nico Dockx, Kris Delacourt, Michelle Naismith and Douglas Park
The young Belgian artist Nico Dockx (° Ekeren, 1974) employs an extremely wide range of media
and methods: by way of video, sound pieces, more traditional three-dimensional installations,
printed matter, performances and all kinds of information technologies he expresses a deeprooted fascination with archiving, making inventories, memory, data management and the ethics
and aesthetics of information transfer. The museum as a place of accumulation and reminiscence
is therefore a natural biotope for Dockx's outstanding site-specific art projects.
His 'intervention' in the MuHKA collection mobilises the helping hands of his colleague artists Kris
Delacourt (° Mortsel, 1978), Michelle Naismith (° Glasgow, 1967) and Douglas Park (° Guildford,
1972), in whose company he was already noticed at the Utopia Station part of the Venice Biennial
last summer. For about eight weeks and in ambient sound and moving image the quartet will
engage in battle with a number of top works from the collection; they do this every time from an
improvised laboratory in the round room (literally between Ann-Veronica Janssen's turquoise
pebbles), which will be virtually completely sealed off for the occasion, except for an all but perfect
circle. At specific times, Nico Dockx, Kris Delacourt, Michelle Naismith and Douglas Park'
residence in the round room will be interrupted by performances and selective actions.
Once Upon a Time… A look at art in Belgium in the
Nineties
is een coproductie van/ une coproduction avec
Cera Foundation en MuHKA
MuHKA dankt zijn / remercie ses:
Structural sponsors:
Degussa Antwerpen, Philip Morris Belgium
Sponsors
Nationale Loterij en Provinciebestuur Antwerpen
Partners:
Bouwonderneming Vooruitzicht,
Brouwerij Corsendonk, Chi Kwadraat, Hifinesse, ING België, KBC, McKinsey &
Company
Ereleden:
Conix Architecten, Dockx-Verbo, Fortis Bank, Kranen Michielsens, Kunstuitleen
Dijkstra,
Mercator Bank & Verzekeringen, Noord Natie, Virgin Express
Mediasponsor:
Klara