Jan De Cock
dal 8/7/2009 al 12/9/2009
Segnalato da
8/7/2009
Jan De Cock
Bozar - Centre for Fine Arts, Bruxelles
Repromotion. A series of sculptures and photographs specially conceived for the exhibition are on display in one of the main exhibition circuits in the Centre for Fine Arts. Each room and each stage of the exhibition is to be experienced like a sequence in an imaginary film. De Cock sculpts the space and questions our perceptions. He draws, with this exhibition, from the cinema, playing with movement, repetition and reproduction. Curated by Yves Aupetitallot.
curated by Yves Aupetitallot
Jan De Cock, a leading figure on the international contemporary art scene, presents
his first large solo exhibition in Belgium. Repromotion consists entirely of new
work specially created for BOZAR in response to the architecture of the Centre for
Fine Arts. The archers of the French sculptor Emile Antoine Bourdelle (1861 – 1929)
guide the visitors through the exhibition.
After his famous Denkmal series, Repromotion heralds a new phase in his oeuvre. The
large exhibition circuit comprises a whole new series of sculptures and photographs.
Every gallery, every stage in the exhibition can be seen as a sequence in a
fictitious film. De Cock sculpts the space and turns perception on its head. He
probes the very sources of the film and plays with movement, repetition and
reproduction.
Furthermore, Repromotion will be given a second lease of life in a new form: after
the exhibition in Brussels, photographs of the galleries will be shown at Le Magasin
in Grenoble.
Jan De Cock (°1976) lives and works in Brussels. De Cock caused a furore with his
Denkmal series in which he encroaches upon different spaces with sculptural
installations made of plywood. 'Denkmal' is German for monument, but it can also be
read as a contraction of the Dutch words (Dutch being the artist's native language)
'denk' (think) and 'mal' (mould), literally 'mould for thought'.
He has come an exceptionally long way for a young artist. His work has already been
shown at Tate Modern in London and he is the first living Belgian artist to have had
a solo show at the MoMA in New York (2008).
The Centre for Fine Arts has had the privilege of playing a role in the artist's
development. In 2003 Jan De Cock was deservedly nominated for the Young Belgian
Painters Award with his installation Denkmal 23, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rue
Ravenstein 23, Bruxelles, 2003. The monumentality of the work and its formal
vocabulary provided food for thought and sparked a privileged dialogue with Horta's
architecture.
A year later Jan De Cock is taking this dialogue a step further with Denkmal 23,
Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rue Ravenstein 23, Bruxelles, 2004, part II: an
artwork/sculpture that also becomes architecture. Jan De Cock is giving Victor
Horta's former restaurant a refit. Using different materials, he has designed walls,
the ceiling and the floor, but also the tables, chairs and lighting for the space
which he is building with the help of his workshop. Visitors could dine in Jan De
Cock's Gesamtkunstwerk.
In collaboration with: Magasin, Centre National d’Art Contemporain de Grenoble
Image: Temps Mort XI.Flamingo, 2009 © Atelier Jan De Cock
Leen Daems
Press Officer BOZAR EXPO & STUDIOS
02 5078389 +32 (0)479 986607 leen.daems@bozar.be
Press preview: Thursday 9th of July at 11am
Bozar Centre for Fine Arts
Rue Ravensteinstraat 23 - Brussels
Opening hours
Tuesdays to Sundays, 10am > 6pm
Thursdays, 10am > 9pm
Closed on Mondays
Tickets
€ 8,00, € 1,00: -26 years, € 12,00: Combiticket Calle Sophie – Jan De Cock