Art Antwerp is a trade fair in contemporary art, showcasing over 50 galleries in Antwerp Expo from the 16th until the 19th of December. “Art Antwerp reflects the nature of our time by focusing on local engagement in a more intimate manner, with most exhibitors hailing from Belgium and its surrounding countries.” We would like to highlight and introduce you to 5 artists who will display works and projects at the fair.
Leiko Ikemura (Tim van Laere Gallery)
Leiko Ikemura has created a vast oeuvre of paintings and sculptures, and has published a myriad of books. Ikemura’s latest works build a cosmos with a nearly tangible atmosphere of mythology, fantasy and confrontations between worlds, often addressing questions of gender, war and religion.
Sven ‘t Jolle (PlusOne Gallery / Sofie van de Velde)
Sven ‘t Jolle creates sculptures, works on paper and installations. ‘t Jolle uses critique, poetry humor to magnify minuscule details of larger socio-political events in history. Work which is lost in time “about reality as the highest level of imagination”, as ‘t Jolle states.
Mai-Thu Perret (Galerie Elisabeth & Klaus Thoman)
In her work, Mai-Thu Perret explores religion, the occult and the natural world – which found fundament in Perret’s fictional narrative The Crystal Frontier (1999). The story follows an autonomous commune in a remote desert, formed by a group of women who aim to break away from capitalism and patriarchy.
Sophie von Hellermann (Sies + Höke)
Von Hellerman’s pastel washed and hazed depictions of fables, legend and myths feel like reveries in which subject, action and decor all fade into one another. “She applies pure pigment directly onto unprimed canvas, using broad-brushed washes to imbue her paintings with a sense of weightlessness.”
Sybren Vanoverberghe (Keteleer Gallery)
Sybren Vanoverberghe visual work shows restless landscapes in a constant state of change. Time and place become one, shining a bright focus on historical elements, nature and heritage in one frame. Vanoverberghe explores cycli, icons, artefacts.
Subbacultcha and Visit Antwerp are teaming up for a series of articles, featuring some of the most interesting events of the city of Antwerp.