'ARTIST IN EXILE'
Artist in Exile is a series of interviews initiated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Zwart Huis asked 10 artists about how they experienced the lockdown and how it influenced their work.
The series of interviews is published as a limited edition.
'Artist in exile'
is also
a group show
with
Colin Waeghe
Do you have a fixed way of working?
Since a number of years I am now beginning to see some kind of a pattern. Everything is interconnected and my last work always follows the previous one, influenced by everything that has happened in the meantime.
Fik van Gestel
Do you have a fixed way of working?
No. As soon as I would experience a certain routine or repetition, I would stop.
Koen Deprez
What role do you see for art in moments like these?
It’s fundamental! As an artist or an architect, ‘now’ is actually a moment to test the relevance of your own work and your ego against the current events. Some art and architecture should be regarded as quite questionable indeed.
Albert Pepermans
What little things do you enjoy?
I enjoy how I live here. It’s almost like living on an island, safely remote from the outside world. I also enjoy the garden, the Japanese cherry tree and the architecture of my studios (front and back) and the house. Just enjoying the time, the good food and the good wine.
Michaël de Kok
What role do you see for art in moments like these?
I think that art in this period (but also in other times) can teach people about a not so obvious way of looking at something. Taking the time to look at something, to take something in. After all, we are so used to a very fast and superficial visual culture that we are so abundantly exposed to through the medi
Hilde Overbergh
What books are on your bedside table?
There are many, and now I have more time to read! "M train" by Patti Smith, "The Vertical Beach" by Oscar Van den Boogaard, "Homo Deus" by Yuval Noah Harari, "Notes from the Woodshed" by Jack Whitten or "Life A User’s Manual" by Georges Perec.
Robin Vermeersch
Do you have a fixed way of working?
Not really. I don’t work on fixed hours. Sometimes I work a bit late, sometimes I stop around 6 o’ clock. I like to do a lot of things at the same time. That’s a bit disturbing. It’s like a lot is being processed at the same time. Now I try to finish sculptures before I start a new one.
Koen Wastijn
What role do you see for art in moments like these?
For me, art is a primary need. Art is vital for my mental health. Art helps one to inhale reality in its totality. Imagine analyzing ancient civilisations without their art…
Antoine Goossens
What do you miss the most?
Going somewhere and disappearing into anonymity.
Johan Tahon
What impact does this period have on your work?
I must confess that I haven't been out of the studio for seven weeks from day one of the lockdown. There is a possibility that I partly fled the uncertainty of the situation and the threat by making sculptures. I have discovered this dynamic in myself before. It is something very simple and it works very well for me.
The exhibition runs from 4 July to 22 August 2020
The gallery will be open on Saturday from 14h to 18h or by appointment.
As from September the gallery will be open again on Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 14h to 18h.
Rivoli #20
Chaussée de Waterloo 690
1180 Brussels
Gustaaf Vander Biest
