ART-PRESENTATION: The Gap

Focusing on the notion of Abstraction in 20th Century and Contemporary Belgian art and the varying sources of influence and inspiration among the artists of two generations, Luc Tuymans has selected 15 artists whose work either articulates a relationship to abstraction or takes as its cue the definition of abstraction.

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: M HKA Archive

Though Luc Tuymans is a figurative painter, he’s turned his attention to abstraction for the group exhibition “The Gap: Selected Abstract Art from Belgium”, the show is an exploration of the notion of Aabstraction across a broad spectrum of interpretations, and seeks to follow the thread of Abstraction through different generations and mediums, drawing attention to the influences which more contemporary artists carry from their predecessors while also exploring the diversity of artist practice and approach surrounding abstraction. The exhibition encompasses 39 works produced by two generations of Belgian artists, those born between the ‘10s and ‘50s (Gaston Bertrand, Amédée Cortier, Raoul De Keyser, Walter Leblanc, Bernd Lohaus, Guy Mees, Francis Alÿs, Philippe Van Snick and Jef Verheyen) and those born between the ‘60s and early ‘80s (Carla Arocha & Stéphane Schraenen, Gert Robijns, Timothy Segers, Boy & Erik Stappaerts, and Pieter Vermeersch). The exhibition emphasises the succession of abstract art from one generation to the other. Their works collectively investigate the potential, formal and conceptual tensions within the notion of abstraction. The works by the earlier generation of artists represented in the show can be loosely situated within Geometric Abstraction and Abstract Constructivism, influenced by artists such as Piet Mondrian and groups such as: De Stijl , the ZERO movement, and the American Colour Field painters. Whereas the more recent works by the younger generation of artists reconstruct and reinterpret the Modernist ideas and concerns from today’s artistic point of view. Ultimately, this exhibition highlights the diversity of artistic practice within abstraction, while revealing intergenerational influences and allowing viewers to explore and be challenged by the depth and limits of abstraction. The exhibition reveals the potential tensions, both formal and conceptual, generated by works when shown together, and in particular the links and developments between generations of artists. Works by peers, teachers and their former students, or assistants are shown in close proximity to one another.

Info: Curator: Luc Tuymans, M HKA – Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, Leuvenstraat 32, Antwerp, Duration: 30/1-29/5/16, Days & Hours: Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun 11:00–18:00, Thu 11:00–21:00, www.muhka.be