22 november 2024, Indra Devriendt
The collective
The group exhibition Salon d’Anvers at Eva Steynen Gallery showcases a variety of paintings and sculptures. The merging of lives, experience and stories highlights the joy and strength of connection.
Every few years, Eva Steynen asks an artist she represents to invite others who have not previously exhibited at her gallery to show their work. “I enjoy getting to know the work of artists in this way,” says Steynen. This time, she asked Christine Clinckx , who chose peers Stef Kamil Carlens and Rudy Trouvé, as well as recent graduates Annefloor Arsonne, Juliet Jespers and Leon Jespers.
Salon d’Anvers refers to the salons of painting and sculpture from the late 18th to early 20th century. “I am referencing the abundance and presentation style,” Clinckx explains. “Also, the bringing together of different generations. I want to show the diversity of stories and perspectives, which cannot be captured in a single image. Each image represents a snapshot. Here, they are brought together. I like to think of this exhibition as a Gesamtkunstwerk.”
‘Salon d’Anvers’, Eva Steynen Gallery
Connections are the common thread throughout the exhibition. Clinckx has a personal bond with the people she has invited. They are friends, people she has known since childhood and watched grow up—people close to her heart. By bringing generations together, she emphasises the continuity of life and passage of time. Events and choices shape our lives and generate stories that we then pass on. We forge bonds, share experiences, care for one another and support each other.
The artists Clinckx brings together are diverse in style, but united in storytelling. “I have chosen artists who create collage-like work,” Clinckx explains. “Every person is like a collage, with traits inherited from ancestors. We are part of both our personal and collective histories. My work reflects this as well.” Her family photos, for instance, are cut into collages, which then serve as the basis for her paintings. Power abuse is a recurring theme in her work, which also appears in that of Annefloor Arsonne. Her pieces provoke contradictory reactions and emotions. Can you shoot animals and women, or would you buy a lighter depicting a naked woman? A pinball machine offers the chance to profit from injustices that occurred during Belgium’s colonial rule in Congo. Are we aware of how contradictory our thought patterns can be?
‘Salon d’Anvers’, Eva Steynen Gallery
Rudy Trouvé’s work recalls a graphic novel. His illustrations and text are suggestive, but leave much open to interpretation. The colours, drawings and text are cheerful and humorous, but there is an underlying bitterness. Whether it’s about joy and sorrow or togetherness and loneliness, the two go hand in hand. Contrasting this are the paintings by Juliet Jespers, created on table linens, bedsheets and canvas. The quantity is effective. Her strokes are powerful, rich in contrast and charged with emotions. Trouvé and Jespers skilfully capture underlying tensions in their imagery.
Her brother, Leon Jespers, depicts a car accident from different perspectives. The series illustrates how fragmented our thoughts and memories are and how a clear, unified image is often missing. His work is displayed opposite the paintings and sculptures of Stef Kamil Carlens, who presents recent animal sculptures and drawings of dancing shamans. Both artists opt for bright colours. Life and death are closely intertwined.
‘Salon d’Anvers’, Eva Steynen Gallery
“To me, the relationship between visual art and music is also important,” says Clinckx. “I cannot work or live without music. I am part of the group ‘7 Days’. We perform from past to present, with alternating artists. All the musicians exhibiting here have also studied the visual arts,” Clinckx adds. Leon Jespers and Rudy Trouvé, along with her son Arthur, performed an improvised concert during the exhibition’s opening. Once again, the focus was on the collective and interaction between generations.
The authenticity of the exhibited work is striking. These are artists who follow their own path, independent of trends. Their work arises from a need to tell stories. You might prefer a certain approach or style, but here, the focus is on the connections between the works—how they find one another, emphasise their individuality and strengthen each other.
‘Salon d’Anvers’, Eva Steynen Gallery
