Jean-Luc Moerman
Connecting Everything
27th September – 21st December 2008
22, boulevard Solvay
6000 Charleroi, Belgium
Jean-Luc Moerman’s indefinable shapes, formed by black lines around brightly-coloured tinted areas, are inspired by countless influences: mostly graffiti, but also independent comic strips, Japanese mangas, science fiction, utopian and futurist designs, car tuning, etc. Sometimes his painted forms seem to refer to biotechnological evolution, communication technologies, and virtual architecture, etc. However, a closer analyse of Jean-Luc Moerman’s works allows a better comprehension of their richness. Far more than the product of diverse influences, his paintings are the result of his constant drawing.
A complex articulation between the volume, suggested by the drawings (the black lines) and the large, flat surfaces, generated by the colour sections gives Moerman’s oeuvre a dynamic that makes the medium an almost irrelevant aspect. Even if his paintings fit into the formats of classical painting (canvas, paper sheet, etc.) without any difficulty, they easily exceed the limits of the frame or the place that serves as the surface. What counts, is the ensemble of shapes that surround us, becoming the theatre of his artistic interventions. The generic term ‘virus-painting’ is probably the most appropriate to describe this kind of expression.
The exhibition Connecting Everything at B.P.S.22 is – like its title suggests – an occasion to present the wide range of surfaces that Jean-Luc Moerman paints on. For the artist, it is an opportunity to come to the building with a painting that covers all its walls next to the B.P.S.22 (3000 m²). Although the exhibition is not rigorously split into separate compartments by a rigid architecture, it creates particular ‘moments’, inherent to each painting or drawing, and yet it allows a global comprehension of Moerman’s oeuvre. The area covered with the big wall paintings creates a real environment. It is clearly separated from the big exhibition room, with a more classical concept, where the works are attached to the walls in such a way, that the details and precision of the drawing are put in the spotlight. So, rather than creating a uniform ensemble, the general set-up highlights the richness and diversity of the artist’s oeuvre.
Contact and information also available at our website: bps22.hainaut.be
B.P.S.22 space for contemporary creation
22, boulevard Solvay
6000 Charleroi, Belgium
Phone: 00 32 71 27 29 71
Fax: 00 32 71 27 29 70