A VISION ON CONTEMPORARY ART 24.04 15 » 28.06 15
A PUBLIC COLLECTION STEPHAN BALLEUX
For the third consecutive year, the Atomium will be showcasing works by contemporary artists as part of the Art Brussels event. Artview is a focus rather than an exhibition, a meeting-point for art lovers, professionals and the general public. This year, Artview#3 is centered on the collection at the Musée d’Ixelles, presenting a selection of works by ten internationally known artists all based in Belgium. With sculptures, paintings, videos and photographs, it offers a varied overview of contemporary art in Belgium.
03
(Bruxelles/Brussel - 1974) > ONE SECOND OF SILENCE, PART 04
An exhibition, a novel, an essay, Stephan Balleux gets his inspiration from everything that surrounds him. Juggling between disciplines, he is passionate about photolithography, video animation, plaster bas-reliefs and painting. In his art, he especially likes to create in series, declining his work in countless ways.
01
(Rotterdam) - 2009 Ed. 4/5, video projection, no sound, 20’28’’
A video-maker, photographer, drawer and sculptor, the visual artist Edith Dekyndt probes the imperceptible links between facts and the way they are represented. The artist’s piercing eye highlights the ephemeral phenomena, invisible events and fleeting experiences that escape the common gaze, revealing them in a delicate and intimate aesthetic. ×
> HOLD EVERYTHING DEAR (RESUMPTION) 2015
This recent series from Stephan Balleux uses different supports (photolithography, video animation and plaster bas-relief) for one of the “pattern-images” of a painting entitled “Hold Everything Dear”, from which the title has been borrowed from the essay of John Berger about the Resistance. The series is a permanent work line for Stephan Balleux. ×
BERT DE BEUL (Gent – 1961)
Disconcerting in their simplicity, most of Bert De Beul’s nameless works show scenes from everyday life. He deliberately distances himself from these images, his main aim being that visitors will create their own stories.
02 > NO TITLE - 1993 Oil on canvas - 46 x 55 cm - acquired in 2011
Through a combination of realism and the purely pictorial, Bert De Beul highlights the contradictory connection between the weight of the reality surrounding us and its fleeting quality, as it is the case with painting. His predilection for simple subjects, executed in a sfumato mode tending towards abstraction, offers us a unique, timeless universe suffused with emotions. ×
EDITH DEKYNDT (Ieper – 1960)
Edith Dekyndt’s work is based on her meticulous observation of the world around us. Her presentations of nature and physical phenomena appear designed to reveal things that we do not perceive at first sight. Through videos, drawings, sculptures and photographs, her creations establish a link between art and science.
04 > 3 JUIN 2011 - 2011 Blue ballpoint pen on paper - 20 x 30 cm - acquired in 2012
An artist with a sensitive, intimate approach, with this work Edith Dekyndt offers visual evidence of an emotional state, as revealed by the automatic, patient marking made with a blue ballpoint pen on a fine sheet of paper. This may be a metaphor for time moving on, deterioration and fragility, as well as the aggressive, inevitable manner of time’s passing. ×
WIM DELVOYE (Wervik – 1965)
Wim Delvoye owes his success to a provocative piece of work : the “Cloaca” is a symbolic installation that reproduces the human digestive system and fecal matter. A visual artist by profession, he likes to mix religious references with Flemish traditions, particularly through his techniques.
05 > KISS 5 Photographs - cibachrome on aluminium - 100 x 125 cm - acquired in 2003
Wim Delvoye is undoubtedly one of the world’s best-known living Belgian artists. His famous work, “Cloaca”, is a re-creation of the human digestive system that produces fecal matter, which is then decanted into Plexiglass containers and sold as works of art. Provocative in his approach, he likes to mix the trivial with the sacred. With “Kiss”, he reduces the timeless theme of love to a medical and dental level, as we see the kiss of a couple via two X-rays of their skulls. ×