Jan Fabre
dal 5/3/2008 al 17/5/2008
Segnalato da
5/3/2008
Jan Fabre
Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts, Bruxelles
This exhibition shows the work of stage director, choreographer and visual artist, seen through the eyes of famous photographers. In Borrowed time Fabre juxtaposes a selection of his project sketches and drawings executed in Chinese ink or blue ballpoint pen with photographs photographer friends have taken of his theatre productions during rehearsals or during the actual performances. The exhibition comprises a total of 150 works: black & white and colour photographs.
This exhibition shows the work of stage director, choreographer and visual artist Jan Fabre, seen through the eyes of famous photographers. In Borrowed time Fabre juxtaposes a selection of his project sketches and drawings executed in Chinese ink or blue ballpoint pen with photographs photographer friends have taken of his theatre productions during rehearsals or during the actual performances. It is as if the director's gaze crosses that of the photographers, resulting in a personal view of Jan Fabre's universe, with a strong visual bias and the standpoint of the 'ideal spectator'.
Born and bred in Antwerp, Jan Fabre is at home in all the art disciplines and moves freely from one to another. In the last 25 years he has produced more than 30 dance, theatre and opera productions in addition to his work as a visual artist. Twelve photographers (Helmut Newton, Carl De Keyzer, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jorge Molder, Malou Swinnen, Dirk Braeckman, Maarten Vanden Abeele, Wonge Bergmann, Jean-Pierre Stoop, Pierre Coulibeuf, Filip Van Roe and Patrick Selitto) have captured his productions on camera since the 1980s. Each photographer reacts differently to Fabre's work, turning what he sees into his own imagery and thus abandoning the customary documentary approach to theatre photography.
The exhibition comprises a total of approximately 150 works: black & white and colour photographs by the above-mentioned photographers and crayon drawings and maquettes by Jan Fabre. The most recent relate to Fabre's ‘Requiem für eine Metamorphose’, created for the Salzburger Festspiele in the summer of 2007.
Short biography Jan Fabre
The great grandson of entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, Jan Fabre was born in Antwerp in 1958 and studied at the Stedelijk Instituut voor Sierkunsten (Municipal Institute for Decorative Arts) and at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten (Royal Academy of Fine Arts). Between 1976 and 1980 Fabre wrote his first theatre scripts and gave his first solo performances. In1980 he began to direct: Theater geschreven met een K is een kater (1980). In 1982 his Het is theater zoals te verwachten en te voorzien was won him international acclaim. In 1984 he created the theatre performance De Macht der Theaterlijke Dwaasheden at the invitation of the Venice Biennial. In 1986 the non-profit Troubleyn was founded as a production structure for initiating and producing the artist's theatre, dance and opera productions. The name Troubleyn means 'being faithful' and expresses Fabre's desire to work with like-minded people in confidence and on a long-term basis.
Furthermore, Jan Fabre is a talented draughtsman and is famous for his ballpoint pen drawings. He is also a sculptor. There are the bronze sculptures like ‘De man die de wolken meet’ (1998), ‘De man die vuur geeft’ (1999), 'Searching for Utopia' (2003), ‘Totem’ (2004) on the Ladeuzeplein in Leuven and ‘Astronaut die de zee dirigeert’ (2006). In the 1990s he began working with the wing-cases of beetles. These works include ‘The grave of the unknown computer' (1994) and 'Zelfportret als Joker' (1997). In 1990 he wrapped Tivoli Castle in paper covered in ballpoint drawings. In 1988 he did the same with an indoor space: ‘De blauwe ruimte’. In 2000 he wrapped slices of ham round the columns of a university building in Ghent. Then there is his very famous 'Heaven of Delight' commissioned by Queen Paola for the Royal Palace in Brussels (2003). Finally from the end of the 1970s onwards Jan Fabre made numerous short films, which culminated in an installation entitled ‘The Angel of Death’ (2003). Besides being an artist, Fabre also aspires to be a thinker. In 1999 he published the first edition of the ‘multidisciplinary magazine 'Janus'. In 1992 he was awarded the 'Flemish Community Prize for Visual Art'. In 1994 he was appointed ‘artist in residence’ at de Singel in Antwerp. In 2004 he was made Grand Officer in the Order of the Crown.
Opening Thursday 6 March 2008
Centre for Fine Arts
rue Royale, Koningsstraat 10 Brussels
Opening times Tuesdays - Sundays, 10 - 18 hrs
Thursdays, 10 - 21 hrs
Admission free