16 may 2023, Flor Linckens
Art fair with a twist: four striking works at Ballroom Project
From 18 to 21 May, the fifth edition of Ballroom Project will take place, an intriguing alternative to the traditional art fair. Here, the twenty-five participating galleries will not present their work in a classic booth. Instead, they are invited to submit three works that a curator will subsequently present in a way that fits the unique exhibition space: the elegant former Justice Palace of Borgerhout in Antwerp. In this article, we highlight four notable artists who will be presenting work at Ballroom Project. These works challenge conventions, stimulate the imagination and invite in-depth reflection.
The versatile practice of the French artist Laure Prouvost focuses on the tensions between language, meaning and the image. During her studies in the United Kingdom, she experienced forms of miscommunication that would inspire her later practice: after all, some nuances do get lost in translation. Prouvost uses language in an associative and surrealistic way and wants us to rethink the things we've been taught. She asks us to unlearn what we know and to see language as a tool for the imagination, effectively opening up space for a new kind of knowledge. Prouvost makes video and sound works, installations, paintings and performances, and her layered, idiosyncratic and non-linear works are often characterised by a great sense of humour. Her work has been exhibited at Palais de Tokyo in Paris and the New Museum in New York, among others. In 2013, she received the prestigious Turner Prize and in 2019, she represented France at the Venice Biennale.
Represented by Galerie Nathalie Obadia
Jitish Kallat, Tetralemma (Threefold Postulates) 7, 2017, Galerie Templon
Jitish Kallat is considered to be one of the leading Indian artists of our time. In 2019, he represented India at the Venice Biennale and his work has been collected by institutions including Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Guggenheim Museum and the Brooklyn Museum in New York, M+ in Hong Kong, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA) in Los Angeles and the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. Kallat's artistic work includes paintings, sculptures, installations, photography and video and he is known for his ability to explore diverse ideas and concepts and translate them into powerful visual works. Through his work, the artist explores themes such as time, identity, memory, trauma, history, globalization, social issues and the astral body as a philosophical concept. A characteristic element in Kallat's work is his use of text. He often integrates words, numbers and sentences into his artwork, playing with language and meaning. This can vary from engraved texts on sculptures to paintings consisting of layers of overlapping words.
Soetkin Verslype, Display, 2021, Base-Alpha Gallery
Contemporary objects are offered a new life by the Belgian artist Soetkin Verslype. The images in her stylised renderings often have a basis in reality and are based on everyday objects, collections, photos, elements from her travels, but also specific arrangements in window displays. She usually works in a predetermined colour scheme, which is not related to the original colour of the depicted object. Her works are not narrative in nature and the resulting paintings have an analytical and fragmented quality, as if you are looking at an abstract puzzle, full of rhythmically ordered surfaces. The images are playful and instantly recognisable, but at the same time, they contain something fragile. Foreground and background seamlessly intertwine in Verslype's compositions, in a kind of warped perspective. Verslype works in an intuitive way. She prefers gouache, because of its matte finish and quick-drying quality. The moment you want to add a new layer to it, the paint is reactivated. That impedes overpainting, effectively forcing the maker to make quick, intuitive decisions.
Represented by Base-Alpha Gallery
Stijn Cole, Calais 18/08/2018 19:46, 2023, Irène Laub Gallery
In the practice of Stijn Cole, the focus isn't on a specific medium, but rather on a specific subject: light. In his installations, videos, photographs, sculptures and paintings, the Belgian artist reduces images to their essence. His mostly abstract works function as a contemporary interpretation of impressionism and landscape art. Time and colour play a significant role in that. For this specific work, he painted a geometric grid of coloured areas that collectively refer to a horizon on the sea. The works in this series often relate to photographs that the artist took during his many walks. For example, this work is called "Calais 18/08/2018 19:46" (2023). The artist himself considers his works to be a filter on reality. He hopes to invite the viewer to look at that same reality with fresh eyes.
