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22/2/2012

Antony Gormley and the Collection

Middelheim Museum, Antwerp

23 February - 5 May 2013
Antony Gormley
Firmament and Other Forms

In 2012, the Middelheim Museum received the donation of Firmament lll, a major work of art by Antony Gormley (b. 1950, United Kingdom) from the artist's gallery, the Brussels-based Xavier Hufkens. The work is displayed at a unique location in the oldest section of the open-air museum next to the main entrance. The work can now be seen on a permanent basis. Firmament III (2009) is an irregular three-dimensional net surrounding a human-shaped void approximately ten times life-size. This work will pick up the light of the changing seasons and be a constant invitation to the visitor to consider his or her place in the order of things.

To highlight this extraordinary acquisition, a series of Gormley's 'polyhedra' sculptures—never before exhibited as a collection—will be on display in the new exhibition pavilion Het Huis (The House), from 24 February until 5 May 2013. In the words of the artist: "This exhibition questions the human body's attachment to architecture and investigates the place of the human body within the wider frame of things and worlds. All the works are based on the 'bubble-matrix'; a random, but consistent geometry found in nature which also forms the structural syntax of Firmament III."

For almost forty years Antony Gormley has been exploring the relationship between the body and the space that surrounds it. He always uses his own body as a test site. This can be taken literally: he frequently casts his sculptures from his own body. What interests the artist is not only the aesthetic, but also the human aspect of the form: the person as an individual, as a member of the collective and as an object in relation to space and the natural world.

Along with the opening of Firmament and Other Forms by Antony Gormley, the Middelheim Museum is launching a brand new collection of publications that will from now on be released on the occasion of temporary exhibitions in the open-air museum.

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Vic Gentils en Rezsö Berczeller
23 February - 1 September 2013

1+1=33 (Collection presentation)

Since 2012, it has been possible to (re)discover internationally important pieces from the Middelheim collection in the Braempaviljoen (Braem Pavilion). In 2013 the Middelheim Museum presents The Chess Set (1966-67) by Vic Gentils (1919-1997, Belgium). This monumental installation with thirty-two exceptional pieces represents a turning point in Gentils’ oeuvre.

Since 2012, it has been possible to (re)discover internationally important pieces from the Middelheim collection in the Braempaviljoen (Braem Pavilion). A collection is presented twice a year; sometimes this is done in association with a guest curator who makes his or her own quirky selection and sometimes the museum itself selects exceptional pieces to place in the spotlight. These are works that have been acquired specially for the Braem Pavilion or which are too fragile to be displayed outdoors. The Middelheim Museum storage, designed by Stéphane Beel, houses many gems of modern and contemporary sculpture.

In 2013 the Middelheim Museum presents The Chess Set (1966-67) by Vic Gentils (1919-1997, Belgium). This monumental installation with thirty-two exceptional pieces represents a turning point in Gentils’ oeuvre. With this piece, he verges extremely closely on the boundary between the non-figurative and the figurative, a boundary that he transcended shortly thereafter. The scenography will reinforce the concept of a battle or game of chess, but will also offer the physical possibility of viewing the installation from different perspectives, for a longer period and in total comfort.

Along with this piece, Pierced by Rezsö Berczeller (1912-1992, Hungary) will also be on display. This artist, who is not as familiar to us, worked on the other side of Europe at the same time as Gentils, on a piece that at first glance appears to have a strong connection to that of the Belgian artist. The Hungarian’s oeuvre is actually influenced by the Second World War and the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, and is almost entirely devoted to the downfall of man.

Image: Antony Gormley, Firmament lll (2009) © Joris Casaer

Press and communication
Miranda De Boel tel. +32 3 2923620 | gsm +32 474122670 fax +32 3 2060370 miranda.deboel@stad.antwerpen.be

Official opening 23 February 2013 at 14.30

Middelheim Museum
Middelheimlaan 61 2020 Antwerp – Belgium
Open Tuesday–Sunday
Hours: October–March 10am–5pm / April and September 10am–7pm / May and August 10am–8pm / June and July 10am–9pm / Closed on Mondays, 1 January, 1 May, Ascension Day, 1 November and 25 December / Open exceptionally on Easter Monday and Whit Monday
Entrance: Free

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