In the exhibition MOON RIVER, Bart Vandevijvere (1961) and Steven Antonio Manes (1993) explore common ground. They find it in their shared identities. For instance, the concept of water is inherent in the surname Vandevijvere, which on one hand, refers to the artist's residence by the River Lys (Leie), and on the other, to the importance of rippling/movement in his work. Similarly, "Manes" evokes a metaphor, reminiscent of moonlight, the reflection of the moon. This glow creates an interplay that encapsulates both surface and universe.Their specific artistic journeys are thus connected through this onomastics. The moon and its reflection on the river visually represent their collaboration. In MOON RIVER, light, time, and space transcend individual artistry.
Bart Vandevijvere meanders through his oeuvre like a river. The flow carries traces of the past and dynamically moves toward the future. Driven by contemporary music and jazz, his journey evokes a constantly renewed search for balance. He moves through time, where each coincidence becomes a new challenge to guide the flow of matter and ideas with an open mind. The process navigates between order and chaos, attraction and repulsion, erosion and reinvention. The result is a layering in which the viewer discovers the course of the narrative.
Steven Antonio Manes sheds light on humanity in a world of fleeting impermanence. He embarks on a search for human values within a precarious landscape, working intuitively. The Southern Italian setting, where his roots lie, is reflected in his works. It is a movement between reason and emotion. The abstract existential character of his oeuvre is revealed through drawings and sculptures, which also bear traces of arte povera. Language connects with the artist’s origin through spontaneous reflections on the canvas, while the viewer connects the lines.
MOON RIVER is a journey of discovery where two artists seek tactile connection. They find each other in the meeting of time and space. Alongside the intertwined structures and reflections of Manes, Vandevijvere’s unpredictable time flows as a slow process of searching, losing, and finding. Let yourself be surprised.