March 8–May 13, 2017
Opening: March 8, 6–9pm
RSVP before March 1: info [at] axelvervoordtgallery.com
Axel Vervoordt Gallery
Kanaal
Stokerijstraat 19
Wijnegem
Belgium
www.axelvervoordtgallery.com
For the inaugural exhibition of the new space at Kanaal, Axel Vervoordt Gallery will open with a retrospective exhibition of Kazuo Shiraga (Japan, 1924–2008), former member of the Gutai Art Association. In recent years, Axel Vervoordt’s attention has brought Shiraga and his work greater acclaim, and taken both to a more profound place. While Shiraga’s work conveys the essence of Japanese culture, it centers on bold expressions unlike anything in Japanese art until that point. And though the artist used Western materials, he made work that was inconceivable to Western people, giving rise to a unique spirituality and expressivity.
This exhibition is organised in collaboration with Lévy Gorvy Gallery at the same time of their Kazuo Shiraga exhibition in London. In 2015, Lévy Gorvy and Axel Vervoordt Gallery co-published the monograph KAZUO SHIRAGA.
The gallery will move from its current location in the historic centre of Antwerp to the Kanaal site in Wijnegem, a large brick-and-mortar industrial complex from around 1870, situated on the banks of the Albert canal, just outside the city of Antwerp. The project is the realization of Axel Vervoordt’s vision to create an authentic cultural and residential island amidst a wealth of art and nature. Later this year, in the winter of 2017 the building destined to house the art collection of the Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation will be inaugurated.
Kanaal was designed together with a team of leading architects which include Stéphane Beel, Bogdan & Van Broeck, Coussee & Goris and Michel Devigne.
