We are pleased to present a new solo exhibition of carefully selected work by Belgian artist Agnes Maes (1942 - 2016). Agnes Maes was trained by Roger Raveel. From the early 1980s she developed a very personal visual language in which she explores existential themes through color and light.
The light emanating from Agnes Maes' artworks is a tangible presence - a seductive force that encompasses an object, a space, a particle, a wave, a moment of contemplation, a burst of color, an emotion and a perception. Maes skillfully shapes this luminosity through her entirely unique use of color, making it manifest and palpable.
Her paintings encourage nuanced visual interpretations. Light, woven into the theme of the simulacrum, guided the selection of works in this exhibition. Abstraction, which here almost always starts from a concrete visual experience, comes alive in Agnes Maes' art. She seems to be in search of a more authentic reality and brings this intention to every image. Maes strives to transform the chaotic realm of perception into something tangible, encouraging moments of recognition.
Rather than limiting the experience to an image, Maes creates visual conditions that immerse the viewer in a process of distinguishing between the layers (the simulacra) that make up reality. The simulacrum acts as a dynamic perception layer, generating vibrating phenomena and awakening memories embedded in the painter's being.
Through Maes' lens, the simulacrum serves as a channel to question and overturn accepted ideals or ‘privileged positions’. Depth, shading and layering contribute to the complicated relationships in life. Agnes Maes' fruitful artistic journey is rooted in organic experiences, light and living matter.