Un-Scene II
22 June–26 August 2012
Opening: Thursday 21 June, 7:30pm
WIELS Contemporary Art Centre
Avenue Van Volxemlaan 354
1190 Brussels, Belgium
Hours: Wed–Sun, 11–18
T +32 (0)2 340 00 53
Belgium, one might say, has no single art scene. Or it may be, perhaps, more accurate to say that Belgium, built as it is on divergent historic, linguistic, and cultural foundations and given its essentially irreverent attitude towards anything that would package it into a clear and tangible unity, has managed to resist having a “scene” at all. In this context, the exhibition Un-Scene II concentrates on what some might, in shorthand, call the emerging Belgian art scene. But with its play on words, which stresses both what appears and does not appear to constitute a coherent “scene,” this exhibition is instead an attempt to sketch out an inevitably subjective portrait of a particular place, time, and set of singular artistic concerns—as these are played out in the work of young artists, some Belgian by birth, and some who have chosen Belgium as the specific context in which to develop their work. Un-Scene II is the second edition of what is now a triennial tradition at WIELS, an integral part of its ongoing research into the practices and questions that animate the artistic life around the institution. While featuring a dozen artists working in sculpture, installation, performance, photography, painting, and video, the exhibition brings together a suite of idiosyncratic practices that seemed, with their specific idioms, to draw on and put into perspective the larger questions driving art making in Belgium today.
Participating artists
Nel Aerts (born in 1987, Turnhout, Belgium; lives and works in Antwerp); Harold Ancart (born in 1980, Brussels, Belgium; lives and works in Brussels and New York); Abel Auer (born in 1974, Munich; lives and works in Brussels); Olivier Foulon (born in 1976, Brussels, Belgium; lives and works in Brussels and Berlin); Steinar Haga Kristensen (born in 1980, Oslo, Norway; lives and works in Brussels); Gerard Herman (born in 1989, Ghent, Belgium; lives and works in Ghent); Dorota Jurczak (born in 1978, Warsaw, Poland; lives and works in Brussels); Vincent Meessen (born in 1971, Baltimore, USA; lives and works in Brussels); Sophie Nys (born in 1974, Antwerp, Belgium; lives and works in Brussels); Eléonore Saintagnan (born in 1979, Paris, France; lives and works in Brussels); Michael Van den Abeele (born in 1974, Brussels, Belgium; lives and works in Brussels); Peter Wächtler (born in 1979, Hannover, Germany; lives and works in Berlin and Brussels).
Un-Scene II is a triennial exhibition project focusing on emerging artists working in Belgium.
This second edition is curated by Elena Filipovic and Anne-Claire Schmitz.
Complementary Program of concerts, lectures, and other events programmed by the participating artists: 22–24 June and 26 August. More info on www.wiels.org.
Press contact
Micha Pycke
micha.pycke@wiels.org
T +32 (0)2 340 00 51
M +32 (0)486 680 070
WIELS gratefully acknowledges the support for this exhibition from the Polish Institute in Brussels and Office for Contemporary Art Norway.
Image above:
Image of Belgium by night. © NASA.
