"Free" opened on March 12 ! Pretty busy !

Opening night of Free, the solo by Koen Delaere. Busy night despite the horrible weather. Glad to see folks from Holland come all the way.  It looked like we had a few journalists amoungst the crowd....so looking for a review some time soon !  

Today the Ninth Floor series will be shipped to Rome - Koen Delaere will come to arrange the new show

One of those weeks where we change the exhibition - the Ninth Floor photo series by Jessica Dimmock is heading to Rome where it will be on display at Forma Galleria from March 18 onwards.

Koen is arriving today to arrange the installation of his show "FREE".  Will post some pictures of the 'work in progress'.  Watch this space.

Armory & Volta 2009

Both of high quality ! Armory said to be less daring and offering more affordable art this year....but still top. High end galleries, well organized and consistent presentation and quality.

                                

Free shuttle bus to Volta (10th floor midtown) where we saw ± 40 - 50 solo's ! Three gallery's from Belgium - none from Holland.  Nice chat with Hoet Bekaert. 

                                                                             Worth taking time to visit Volta ! 

      

BRIDGE Art Fair NYC 2009

What a difference a few hours make....Bridge art Fair was a major dissapointment. 

Located close to the Waterfront but difficult to find as the other fairs will not tell you where it is (they know but are not allowed to give you instructions.....(un)healthy competition). First impression is that the cab drops you in front of the entrance but you have to climb over 1 meter high pile of black snow. After that small hurdle, we entered a 'tube' shaped space very full of hip people.  Good first impressions turned nasty after 50 meters (637 inches) when we saw the mixed bag of art. Trying hard to see through the mess, we discovered a few worthwhile works. Body artists at work (tattooing a freshly shaven head) and pushy sales women combined with the very hot air blowing at the crowds made my nauseous. We dutifully worked through the tube until we discovered the coat-check at the other end (who said location-location-location was important). So by than, sweating with coats and shawls & gloves, we decided to head out.  There is no catalog, no oversight and overcrowded booths and lack of space and planning. 

New York - the 2009 Art Fairs - PULSE

Day 3, breakfast in bed and whilst the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 are falling to new low levels, we are discussing the findings to-date. Every gallery keeper we spoke was showing a brave face and reporting that 'things are good' ... according to the New York Times & Art Newspaper, at least 45 galleries, some founding members of Armory, did not return this year.  There seems to be a discrepancy..

Yesterday, day 2, VIP brunch at PULSE at the Piers : no big crowds but a good number of people was filling the aisles around 11 AM. Dutch ex-minister / Quote 500 Herman Heynsbroek was spotted and said to have bought some works, a few red dots started to appear. But, ooh horror, all coffee machines were broken - even those in the Collectors' Lounge!    

Overall a very nice set up, well curated with generally high level of art and special commissioned works.   Most booths we liked showed work by German artists .... coincidence ??  Nice meeting with Martine Willekens (Peper Office) and friends.  We liked Bitforms gallery, NYC, ASPN Gallery (Leipzig, DE), Pablo's Birthday, NYC.   Our artists would not be out of place here.  To be continued.

Sebastien Marcq | Three times lucky !

                    
Sebastien was the very first artist (photographer, Mons BE) accessing the, than, temporary gallery to show his series Ab Ovo. He came back later in the year for a second show.  We kept in touch and I invited him to participate in the upcoming summer exhibition 'Handpicked'.  Leaving soon for several months in Japan, he will send us weekly new images from which we will select several to exhibit. Wonderful work - especially his landscapes and urban scenes !  Above some pics of Sebastien showing his work to Loek and yes, Christine ! Loek said : vu et approve ! 

Anton Cotteleer / visit to his studio in Antwerp, BE

                                                  

Loek and I traveled to Antwerp's hippest neighborhood to visit Anton at his studio. Spacious and well lit but verrry cold.  A quick tour revealed several well wrapped works waiting to leave and a large mould (we are talking a ± 2-3 mtr high sculpture) - in parts and drying - ready to cast.  This is serious work !Anton uses new and innovative materials to produce light and weatherproof outdoor sculptures.  

We warmed up with a cuppa at the Hopper.       

                                                  

Our exhibition 'Handpicked' (summer 2009) will feature some of his newest works.

Affordable Art Fair - Brussels edition - VIP openingnight

Well, what can I say....a lot of well intended 'art' works on sale in a bazar-like atmosphere.  Its funny how the Affordable in AAF creates the impression that the art is priced low in relation to the quality. I would argue that the prices (although all below 5.000 Euro) are not necessarily representing fair value.  Helped by bubbles, some red wine and finally vodka, we managed to work our way through the corridors.  Pretty busy although many of the visitors are often seen at 'normal' gallery openings.  Could that indicate that the AAF is not (yet) accessing a new public by lowering the gallery' fear-of-entry-factor' ?   

Locuslex - isn't that a spelling error ?

It's not !  Locuslex ('lex', latin for law, statute / covenant / text, agreement) is the title of our new regular gallery publication. The title Locuslex was conceived by Klaus Berend (our official name & title provider !).

Content will vary but is under editorial control of the honorable Loek Grootjans.   In our first issue we expect contributions by our gallery artists, outside critics and others.

Cover & lay-out will be by Ton Homburg (Opera Ontwerpers, Breda). Locuslex will consist of 16 color pages, will be in print and published on line (using technology by Issu). The first one is due in March/April. 

Watch the wire for more info.

Christine de Schaetzen joins the gallery and will handle press activities for '...Stands for Attitude'

We have asked Christine de Schaetzen (Foundation pour l'Architecture, Brussels, BE) to head up our press planning for the main exhibition later in the spring.   Christine speaks fluently French, Dutch and English - that will make our publicity truly multilingual ! Christine can be reached on her own email address on our server : christine.deschaetzen@locuslux.com.  

56 holes drilled ! The Ninth Floor & Paparazzi !

With military precision, 56 holes were drilled and as many photographs installed ! 

Opening tomorrow from 2 PM onwards !

Change-over time !

The Drawings Expanded show ended on Sunday - everyone seems quite pleased with the interest, the huge attendance and finally the results.  

Interestingly, several visitors returned for a second look - the article in H Art Magazine reviewing the show also made some out-of-town visitors head our way !  En passant, Boris Thiebaut heard informally that he will be Artist In Residence at Wiels this year !

Tomorrow is built-up day for 'The Ninth Floor' - a total mood swing - subdued and quiet. The spotlights turned down and the curtain, literally, closed to create an atmosphere resembling the 'fragile' mood in the ninth floor apartment in NYC.  A DVD will run on a flat screen and re-tell the story - images complement the photo series.

However, one area of the gallery will be brightly lit - a nod towards the artificial world of Paparazzi!

The opening reception is this Saturday from 2 through somewhere around 7 PM.   

Jaap de Vries wins Wim Izaks Prize 2008 !

Jaap - congratulations !  Well deserved recognition !  

The bottle is waiting in Brussels ! 

NYC here we come !

Just confirmed a trip with Marja to NYC - 4 through 7 March - and will visit a number of Art Fairs; The Armory Show, Pulse NY, Red Dot NY, Bridge Art Fair, Scope NY.

and planning to meet a number of gallery's, artists and the occasional bar !  Suggestions welcome !

       

Jessica Dimmock | the Paparazzi! pics arrived !

Four packages arrived today from finishing company Dekla in Holland - these guys produced stunning prints and finished them in 3 mm perspex on 3 mm alu.  Nice.  Sneakpreview 31 Jan.

Lots of news from Ben Young

Just uploaded 9 images of works by Ben.  Looking great on the website - looking the fall when we are scheduling a solo of his work - for the first time in Belgium.

Turner Prize 2008

Turner Prize 2008 - NRC artikel (Nederlands)

Klik de link voor het artikel.  Mark Leckey Installation.

CRISIS - WHAT CRISIS ?

To drink the 'crisis' away, we are having a New Year's reception at Locuslux gallery on Sunday the 11th of January (14-19h or later) !  We will ditch the caviar and offer some comfort food instead.  Welcome !  Yes, You Can !!   Have a smoking New Year !

 

Visit to Tilburg | atelier of Koen Delaere

Another trip, this one with Marja, to visit Koen in his studio in Tilburg.  In the center (why are all artists in the city centers ??!!) and difficult to find but worthwhile ! Koen's work, some paintings were in the process of drying, are layered and need time to be fully discovered.  Base alkyd paint is covered with acrylic paint before his real work starts. The results are 'typical Delaere' and yet very individual.  More photo-material will be produced and circulated ahead of his first solo show in Belgium (March/April 2009).   We wonder where the biertaxi was heading to...

Jaap de Vries nominated for Wim Izaks Prize 2008

http://www.bredavandaag.nl/nieuws/2008-12-19/bredase-schilder-genomineerd-voor-kunstprijs

Marc Nagtzaam in 'blue-turns-grey'

Take a look at some of Marc's works on 'blue-turns'grey' - volume 3, issue 3, autumn 2008.  See favorite links.

Trendspotting: Miami Art Basel

This is a link to the website www.uitzendinggemist.nl to view the 21 Dec 2008 TV broadcast about Art Basel Miami Beach.  [in Dutch langauge]

Visit to London | studio of Ben Young

A quick dash across the channel to visit the studio of Ben Young on the outskirts of London. Cold and bright day but plenty of work to warm up to. The paintings are strong - very present - dark - challenging the viewer - raw & and bold. Do we see the painter ?

London has plenty to offer but Brussels is gaining ground with Ben making his entree in 2009 !

Florette Dijkstra @ Locuslux

Florette came to Brussels to inspect the gallery !  A worthwhile visit & discussion with Loek on how to integrate her paintings into a show in 2009.  The paintings are still, quiet and yet very present - meticulously refined. We have the majority of Florette's books at the gallery - come and take a look. I will put a couple 'on line' soon.

Visit to Liege, Belgium | atelier Jonathan de Winter

Together with Loek Grootjans, I visited the large, industrial style atelier of Jonathan de Winter.  A great place - in the center of town.   Intriguing installations - lots of space and light. Jonathan is working on various noise producing installations, paintings and other concepts. We talked about his contribution to a large exhibition ('...Stands for Attitude') which Loek will curate for Locuslux in 2009 (April - June).   Unique to be able to 'look into' unrestrained efforts to develop a style - a presence. 

Warm coffee and chocolate cake further helped forget the dreary grey day outside !