Michaël Borremans
“Veldwerk”
8 September – 4 November 2007
de Appel
Nieuwe Spiegelstraat 10
1017 DE Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Opening hours
Thu-Sun: 11 am – 6 pm
Although originally trained as a photographer and graphic designer, since the mid-1990s, the Belgian artist Michaël Borremans (Geraardsbergen, 1963) mainly wields the paintbrush and has made a name for himself with absurdominous drawings and enigmaticseductive paintings. From autumn 2007 de Appel explores an unknown aspect of Borremans’ oeuvre, namely the films on which he has been working on the quiet. In an interview with journalist Els Fiers (Metropolis M, October 2005) Borremans stated: ‘A painting is not a stationary image: it moves, it is a presence. Film is something I would still like to experiment with. I’m considering working with this medium although I might never exhibit the results.’ Borremans has now decided to screen his films — that seem to be a logical step in his indirect investigation into the realism of the image — as an essential part of his artistic production. The presentation in de Appel is Borremans first solo exhibition in The Netherlands, but also counts as the international premiere of his cinematic work.
Formally and thematically, Borremans’ films are closely related to his two-dimensional work, and they will be shown in ‘environments’ of paintings and drawings. They are ‘tableaux vivants’ with poetic titles like “The Storm” or “The Feeding”, in which Borremans very gradually, with subtle camera work, creates an oppressive atmosphere. Borremans builds up a gripping but subdued suspense that fails to lead to a ‘climax’ or ‘apotheosis’. The images in Borremans’ films balance on the divide between a recognizable, everyday reality and a slightly bizarre dream world and raise questions about the reality and impact of images in our society.
In January 2008, the exhibition will travel further to the venue of co-organiser Centro de Artes Visuais in Coimbra, Portugal (21 January – 20 April 2008). To accompany the exhibition, a comprehensive catalogue will be published, a collaboration between CAV Coimbra, de Appel and Hatje Cantz, with contributions by a.o. Ann Demeester, Masimiliano Gioni and Delfim Sardo.
For more information and images please contact: Gerbrand Korevaar, gkorevaar@deappel.nl
For more information about the publication please contact: Edna van Duyn, ednavanduyn@deappel.nl