What brings these artists together? What do they have in common? They have understood something about our species, about people, and dare to express it amidst the selfie culture in which everything has to be good and beautiful. They bring us back to ourselves with our highs and lows, our qualities and shadow sides. Their art does not shy away from the uncomfortable, the vulnerable and the ugly.
Andrea Radai (1964) lives in Amsterdam and was born in Budapest, Hungary. Suspense is "Leitmotiv" in the work of Andrea Radai. Anticipation and fear, related to our existential, political, sexual and social desires. Central to her work are images that evoke this kind of tension. Andrea Radai explores the power of painting and drawing of human situations and thereby questions the power of art in a world overrun by images. She is interested in the relationship between collective and personal history. Her works reflect the reality of a moment and at the same time refer to universal aspects of our memories. Memories from the now that are so universal that they provide a glimpse of a future, of any kind.
Johan Clarysse (1957) lives and works in Bruges. Central to Clarysse's oeuvre are the themes of identity and power. Where people live together, power is created. Certainly, also the power of religious and political ideologies, imposed values and beliefs. His works formulate questions around the complexity of the human condition. His works are intriguing and full of references. They are playful but also serious, clear in terms of its imaging, but ambiguous in meaning. His works encourage thinking and also feeling. Often an oppressive atmosphere, almost a threat, emanates from an existing, but not directly definable or visible, power. Does Clarysse show us what we prefer to hide in our twittering society?