It was like trying to solve a Sudoku: you know that in the end everything will fit, but what’s the right connection between all those parts? That’s how watching Vincent Dunoyer ’s Encore felt to me. An intriguing performance for which the dancer/choreographer ‘reorganised’ dance material provided by Steve Paxton, Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and a few others. Once again: an interesting evening during Kaaitheater’s Re:Move festival, which focuses on the transient nature of dance. Read more »
And a funny country it is, this beloved Belgium of mine. Take Michèle Noiret, for instance: a household name in the French part of the country, virtually unknown in the Flemish part. Demain, her latest performance, won the Critic award of the best dance performance of 2008/2009 in the south part of the country, but passed unnoticed in the north. That’s why I just had to go and check it out, now that Théâtre National (Brussels), where Michèle Noiret is artist in residence, is programming a rerun, until February 13. Read more »
Transient wonders, everyday bliss. Brussels gallery Argos couldn’t have picked a better title for its new exhibition, with pictures by Rinko Kawauchi. It’s the first time this Japanese artist is brought to Belgium and she has a second exhibition running in Brussels as well. While Argos is concentrating on older work (and is having a video and a slide show too), up town gallery Meessen De Clerq is showing some of Kawauchi’s recent pictures. But: transient wonders, everyday bliss. That’s what Kawauchi specializes in. She likes to take pictures of things that live for a short time, and when she’s taking pictures of her family (which she has done for the last 15 years) she is looking for the things that can happen to every family. Kawauchi started out by publishing books, and she used to keep a photo diary on the internet too. She is presented by Argos as one of the most celebrated Japanese photographers of her generation. You’ll see lots of subdued pictures in soft tones of bugs and plants and close-ups of everyday things, often in the same large format: 101×101 cm. Two exhibitions for those of you who are in a poetic mood. You’ll find an older interview with Kawauchi about her career here. Exhibition at Argos through March 27, at Meessen De Clerq through March 6.
How do you ‘transmit’ dance? How do you pass on an art form that is so transient and so hard to note down? How do you reconstruct choreographies? Questions that have been bugging choreographers for years. Re:Move, set up by Kaaitheater (Brussels) is a new festival that will be focusing on all of these questions. It was kicked off yesterday by Pina Bausch-dancer Lutz Förster. Read more »
It was getting a bit preposterous. That’s why I’m happy to know that Berlinde De Bruyckere was finally awarded one of the CultuurPrijzen Vlaanderen, in Kortrijk, tonight. The Flemish artist was already nominated twice before, for these ’Flemish culture prizes’, awarded in 12 categories every year. This was the third time she got nominated. Other notable winners this year are Benjamin Verdonck (theatre) and Renzo Martens (film), for his thought-provoking Enjoy poverty. They each get 12.500 euro. Berlinde De Bruyckere was kind enough to invite me over to her studio recently and talk to me for my Utopia Parkway Files. I’ll be publishing her thoughts on beauty shortly. In the meantime you can still go to bookshop Saint-Hubert, Brussels, so see some pictures of her work and one new sculpture. More info: here.
I clearly remember picking up my first candy. It happened on the same day that I discovered Pipilotti Rist’s wonderful video Ever is over all (extract here). That was a good day, in New York, in December 2000. There was something mysterious and funny about that silver paper wrapping, and I’ve kept it ever since. Ten years later I’m still intrigued by the work of the late Felix Gonzalez-Torres (1957-1996). So I’m glad there’s a retrospective of his work at Wiels (Brussels). One that will travel to Basel and Frankfurt later on. Don’t miss it. Read more »
Oh, how I love it when art succeeds in easing those raging storms inside your head. Just by being art. By being beautiful. Forgive me for my poetic mood, but it’s all due to that wonderful evening I spent in deSingel (Antwerp), yesterday, in the presence of the exquisite Hilliard Ensemble, singing and acting in I went to the house but did not enter, ‘a staged concert in three tableaux’, created by German composer and theatre director Heiner Goebbels.
We’ve all seen them by now, those blown-up pictures of anonymous people walking by in the streets of New York or Tokyo, minding their own business, caught by Swiss artist Beat Streuli. But how do you avoid becoming a one-trick pony, as an artist? So when Brussels’ gallery Erna Hecey announced a show by Streuli with new works I was eager to go and check it out. But I was rather disappointed. Streuli has turned his attention to people in cars, these days. Which basically means he applies the same technique to another subject; and his video’s didn’t really convince me either. There was one interesting green, almost abstract picture that pointed in the direction of something new, though. As any famous rock band will tell you: having a style of your own can be both a blessing and a burden. Not familiar yet with Streuli’s work? Do check out his site here. You’ll be able to flip through heaps of his pictures. (Beat Streuli, ‘New works’, until February 28, Erna Hecey, Brussels)
Whenever I’m near Ghent and have some time to kill, I always try to drop by at the lovely Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Deurle (Sint-Martens-Latem). These days they have three gigantic pictures on display by Sophie Ristelhueber and works by Belgian artist Narcisse Tordoir (who’s also having a show in Mechelen), but my attention was caught by the cold, minimalist and eerie atmosphere in the neon-lit room with works by New York artist Banks Violette. He has made quite a reputation for himself by flirting with images of violence and the darker side of youth culture, although not every art critic is into his work (see review from Frieze Magazine here. The white bike in Deurle is a reference to the death of one of Violette’s hero’s, the painter Steve Parrino (read about that here). ‘Zodiac (F.T.U.)/74 ironhead SXL’ (2008-09; private collection, Belgium) and ‘Not Yet Titled (Empire)’ (2008; courtesy Team Gallery & Galerie Rodolphe Janssen), and a few other works by Banks Violette, until February 14, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens)
Women, science labs and theatre, it keeps on being an interesting combination. Last year I already saw strange things happening in the labs of Dominique Roodthooft (read review here) and Kate McIntosh (review here). Just the other day I had a wonderful time during a lecture/performance of Gosie Vervloessem, a young Flemish artist who’s still in the stages of trying to find out what works best for her. She has taken up a residency at Recyclart (at trainstation Kapellekerk, Brussels), for which she is going to hold a ‘domestic science lab’ every two months. If her first lecture (‘How to make clouds’) is anything to go by, this could very well become a ’cult’ night out. While the trains pass by over your head with a thundering noise a shy, funny ánd resolute Vervloessem cleverly and awkwardly blends facts and fiction, ‘you can do this at home too’-science, performance-art and philosophy. Her next lecture will be about gravity. I can’t wait.
If you think that art galleries are tiny spaces just for specialists, and places not worth visiting, think again. Or just drop by at the new Almine Rech gallery in Brussels. You won’t believe your eyes. (OK, I’m slightly exaggerating here.) Mrs. Rech, who is married to Picasso’s grandson and who also owns a gallery in Paris, has completely renovated her Brussels gallery and turned it into an exciting, rather enormous space. It’s another proof of the fact that, when it comes to contemporary art, Brussels is becoming a place to be reckoned with. (That well-known other example? New York gallerist Barbara Gladstone opening a gallery here. The new expo over there is one by Andro Wekua.) Almine Rech is situated uptown, in vicinity of two other interesting galleries: Xavier Hufkens (do check out the new Tim Rollins and K.O.S. and Padraig Timoney exhibition) and Meessen De Clercq. On display at Almine Rech (until February 18) are works by German artists Gregor Hildebrandt and Daniel Lergon. (Almine Rech, Rue de l’abbaye/Abdijstraat 20, 1050 Brussels; photo credit: Philippe D. Photography)
The power of a good story. Never mind if other things on stage aren’t that striking, there’s always that story to listen to. That’s the thought that popped up in my head, after I’d seen Falsch!, by Dutch writer and theatre director Hanneke Paauwe. It’s a theatre production that has its flaws, but by telling strange and cruel stories the three actresses on stage nevertheless wickedly capture their listeners’ attention.
In case you didn’t know: there’s a new standard for black. And it’s on display in Brussels until January 25, at the MediaRuimte. Hostage, by Belgian artist Frederik De Wilde, is made of the darkest material known to men. I dropped by the other day and I can say: there sure is more to it than meets the eye. To begin with: De Wilde’s nano-painting is deceptively small (7 by 7 cm). And it has a few, whiter impurities. But apart from that, it’s impossible to see if it is indeed darker than the black we all know. Hostage, which according to De Wilde carries references to the work of Kazimir Malevich and Yves Klein, is made of carbon nanotubes. That ’new black’ was discovered in 2008 by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Rice University in the US (read article from Science Daily about that discovery here). In what way is it different? All materials reflect some amount of light. Researchers have since long been looking for an ideal black that absorbs all light while reflecting no light. This new black absorbs more than 99,9 percent of light. And whereas the total reflectance of normal black paint is between 5 and 10 percent, the reflective index of this new material is 0,045 percent; which is more than three times darker than the previous record. And yes, even science professors are human: they have applied for a Guinness World Record, for their efforts. (MediaRuimte, rue de Laekensestraat 104, Brussels, Thursday-Sunday 16.00-21.00, or by appointment. Info here.)
Just back from the new Frida Kahlo exhibition at Bozar (Brussels), and I’m happy to give it my stamp of approval. Be warned though: this is not a big, retrospective of the Mexican painter (1907-1954). Frida Kahlo y su mundo only comprises 19 paintings, 1 etching, 6 drawings and a number of photographs. They are on display in the ‘basement’, where Bozar had its Sexties exhibition as well. The room is darkened, which makes Kahlo’s warm colors stand out even more in the spotlights. And it helps to create a dreamlike atmosphere. The downside is that everyone has trouble reading the little booklet with more info on the paintings. All the paintings are from a Mexican private collection: the Museo Dolores Olmedo. Olmedo (who sat as a nude model for Kahlo’s husband Diego Rivera) bought 27 paintings from Kahlo’s neighbour, in 1955, at Rivera’s insistence; even though she wasn’t exactly a fan of Kahlo’s work. (Frida Kahlo y su mundo, till April 18, Bozar, Brussels; info here)
Maybe it’s like languages: you like some of them more than you do others. When it comes to Alain Platel‘ s performances I’ve often had my doubts. Nevertheless, I was really eager to see Out of context, as the Belgian choreographer promised a performance on a smaller scale: no lavish decor and no special live score to dance to. The audience seemed quite ecstatic right after the world première at Brussels’ Kaaitheater. I left the theatre frowning; thinking all of this over.
One place I’d rather be right now than in Brussels? Paris. Le Grand Palais, to be precise. To be among the first to see Christian Boltanski’s gigantic installation for Monumenta, Personnes. There’s an enormous mountain of clothes, a crane picking up handfuls of clothes and resonating heartbeats involved. It sure looks impressive. Boltanski compares it to the finger of God: you don’t know who’s going to be killed or not killed. The French artist is an intriguing one: he has already recorded the heartbeat of some 30.000 people. From July onwards you will be able to listen to them somewhere on a Japanese island. And with art collector David Walsh he has recently struck a strange, devilish deal: everything Boltanski (65) does in his atelier is filmed, but the collector only gets the tapes after Boltanski’s death. The live images are streamed, though, to a cave in Tasmania. For more on Personnes, click here for a photo gallery from French newspaper Le Figaro. More on Monumenta (through February 21) here. (photo credit: Sébastien Soriano/Le Figaro)
Love letters sung from hospital beds
Posted in music, theatre with tags An De Donder, Aquarius, Autopsie van een gebroken hart, Commentaire, Dominique Pauwels, Lod, Marcelle Sauvageot on January 19, 2010 by utopiaparkwayA row of hospital beds. And all of a sudden those ailing women just laying there turn out to be singers. It’s great how Autopsie van een gebroken hart (Autopsy of a broken heart) really takes you to another world, just by means of that ingenious setting. As an audience you are sitting in front of those beds, while the music is coming to you from here, there and everywhere. Too bad this new music theatre-production by Ghent-based LOD doesn’t succeed in really sweeping you off your feet.
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