14 february 2023, Yves Joris
The sensitive associations of Isabel Miquel Arqués
Our brain operates in mysterious ways. An almost nightly search for a quote about art led me to the English writer Virginia Woolf. A few days later I found myself in the studio of Spanish-Belgian artist Isabel Miquel Arqués, whose work can be admired at the Ingrid Deuss Gallery in Antwerp.
People often accuse me of thinking fairly associatively and that I dare to omit logical steps when telling my story. The above introduction may therefore seem quite cryptic at first. Isabel laughs when I explain my leap of thought and reassures me that her brain works the same way. She is busy finishing the second part of her Beyond Borders trilogy. This time, she travelled to Virginia Woolf’s England for a photo project about the author.
Isabel Miquel Arques, Portrait, 2022, Ingrid Deuss Gallery
A trilogy of strong women
For the first instalment Isabel travelled to Rungstedlund, Denmark, where her camera entered into dialogue with everyday objects from the life of Karen Blixen, best known as the author of the book Out of Africa. “And soon I will be traveling to Santa Fe, to Georgia O'Keeffe's Ghost Ranch, to work on the final instalment of the trilogy. Well, I'm still busy with the composition of the second book, but the opportunity arose to go to New Mexico. And I grabbed that opportunity with both hands. (laughs)”
During the conversation, an enthusiastic artist takes me on a tour covering all the different ideas she is currently working on. On the floor of her studio are photos from the series The Spain of My Father, for which she received an honourable mention in Japan during the prestigious Hariban Award 2022. A few seconds later, I find myself standing in front of a table full of objects that all look like ears at first. She agrees that they are objects that could have been part of the group exhibition that can be visited until April 16 at Villa Les Zéphyrs in Westende. For me, Les oreilles de la mer is an installation in which all the artistic storylines in Arqués' oeuvre coalesce.
Isabel Miquel Arques, Studies on Marie, 2021, Ingrid Deuss Gallery
In contrast to the temperamental artist who switches smoothly between English, Spanish and Dutch during the conversation, her work could not differ more from her character. “I choose the imperfection of the image. My work almost disappears into the medium. I pay a lot of attention to the material and texture of my works. I want visitors to feel an irresistible urge to touch my work, to be carried away by the story that I bring together.”
The artist mostly works in black and white, but she confides that Woolf pushed her to use colour film for this series. She has no real explanation for it – Woolf's life, the environment where I followed in her footsteps, begs for colour. So, she accepted the challenge.
A natural habitat
During that search for quote, I also noted, “It's the imperfections that make something beautiful. That's what makes it different and unique from everything else.” This statement by Bob Ross, the enthusiastic man with a perm who taught half the world to paint, perfectly summarises Ingrid Deuss Gallery where Arqués' work can be admired.
Deuss is tried and tested in the world of photography and started her idiosyncratic gallery in Antwerp in 2011, where she exhibits artists who all have two things in common: their work radiates a poetic imperfection yet delivers a coup de foudre. I can wholeheartedly agree with these two sentiments when admiring the intimate work of Isabel Miquel Arqués.
Isabel Miquel Arques,Ilse on the moon, 2021, Ingrid Deuss Gallery
