Xavier Hufkens Gallery

http://www.xavierhufkens.com/

Xavier Hufkens
Sint-Jorisstraat 6-8 Rue Saint-Georges
Brussel BE-1050 Bruxelles
T +32 (0)2 639 67 30
F +32 (0)2 639 67 38
Open Tuesday to Saturday,
noon to 6 pm

Belgian Artistocrate - Delphine Boel

These are some of my favorite pieces from Belgian Artistocrate Delphine Boel.

Carsten Holler

Loving the work of Belgian-born Geman artist Carsten Holler produced for the National Gallery of Canada in 2007. You can see more images @ http://www.airdeparis.com/holler/2007/ottawa.htm

Julie Krakowski

Julie Krakowski is a Brussels-based French textile designer who gets inspired by marks left by time. She is an artist I discovered through a very cool blog called "2 or 3 things I know". Her work mimics various textures such as flowers, rusted metals, cigarettes, etc. Though I wouldn't want to actually wear any of these textiles, on a visual and photo-graphic plane, I find her work and these images to be very mysterious and beautiful at the same time.

"Work based on the marks left by time. Graphic work on the unpredictable and uncontrolled creation of rust on paper. Examination of the confrontation rust and preciousness. The rust embodies the notion of change, wear and tear, the staining effect, dirt and the fact that one is repelled by rust, whereas the precious is signified by silk, fashion, the body and attraction. It is an ambiguous play between fashion and trash, change and sublimation."

- Julie Krakowski

Folon Museum

Famous Belgian artist Jean-Michel Folon put more than five hundred works just twenty minutes outside of Brussels, in the farm of the castle of La Hulpe. This charming and characteristic building in the middle of the marvellous Solvay Park is home to more than forty years of creation.

Watercolours, engravings, posters and sculptures are presented in an original and lively setting, creating a dialogue between the works of art and the poetic place that houses them. Music, films and optical effects enliven the route. The result is a strong, magical and astonishing exhibition.

This post via http://www.fondationfolon.be/index_en.htm

Fondation Folon
Ferme du Château de La Hulpe
Drève de la Ramée 6 A
1310 La Hulpe
Belgium

02/653.34.56 –
02/653.00.77

Judith Schils - Artist

Loving the work of Judith Schils, a Belgian artist I discovered while browsing the artist roster of the Leuven-based Cypres Gallery. The work above is the last drawing in a series called "18 pianos" ... worth looking at here. On the very top is a drawing called "towers", but part of a different series ...

Koen Demuynck

Just thought this was an interesting piece ... by Belgian Artist Koen Demuynck. Sometimes, liking just one piece is enough ...

More at http://www.koendemuynck.com/

Jos Devriendt - The end of the vase

Jos Devriendt is a Belgian potter/artist who designs and creates ceramic vases (amongst other things). His exhibition "The end of the vase" was a survey of his twenty year quest for design, aesthetics and symbolism. And his remarkable analysis of this search was his decision to leave the flowers where they are; in nature. Or, how an ending can be something hopeful.

More of his work can be seen at the Matin Gallery, a stunning Los Angeles Gallery specializing in minimalist ceramic and furniture designed and created by artists.

More info at http://www.matin-gallery.com/

Wim Delvoye

Louis Vuitton tattooed pig 'Louise' was raised, fed, pampered and then tattooed at Wim Delvoye's Art Farm in China (where animal welfare regulations turn a blind eye to tattooing - side thought: is branding still allowed in the west?). Though Wim Delvoye has 'inked' many other pigs (including human ones) with various designs ... Louise and her LV logos remains my favorite ... so chic! I admit I am both amused and horrified by this ... but I have to say: it takes guts (I'm talking about the pig: the animal, not the man ... the pig!!!!! No, NOT the man, the little four-legged furry animal ... then again, I haven't met the artist.

More at https://wimdelvoye.be/
https://www.artsy.net/artist/wim-delvoye

Arne Quinze

Stilt Houses

"Dream Saver": this design is a 12-meter long tunnel
lined with hanging chains of Swarovski crystals.

Uchronia,
by Jan Kriekels and Arne Quinze at the 2006 Burning Man Festival

Cityscape, Brussels

" I love chaos
I'd love to freeze one of these sublime moments
when the logic of chaos, the only thing that is real,
reveals its incomparable beauty and harmony. "

- Arne Quinze (The Uchranians)

Arne Quinze's talent lies in his ability to fuse polar extremes -
passion and chaos with controlled elegance. He creates immaculate, urbane and polished works that are balanced with a certain contradicting tension, giving them a refined yet exuberant appearance. He realizes his ideas with verve and is able to generate crossovers between art and architecture as if it's child's play.

His headquarters in Kortrijk, Belgium, are located in a complex of 10,000 square meters. A unique creative platform where Quinze has surrounded himself with architects, urban developers, product and graphic designers, video artists, copywriters and sculptors. The Art Studio in Miami is another volcano for his creative artistic outbursts. Every new creative breed captures his research and study on interaction, urbanity movement, speed and light in present-day society. Quinze scans a city in a blink of an eye and divulges the ongoing rhythm running through multifarious buildings and settlements expressing the continuously evolving of human beings and their surroundings. Man cannot survive alone, we find refuge in one another. Neglecting our human needs we live in an era where social interaction has been well-nigh diminished to nonexistent.

More at http://www.arnequinze.tv/

Raphael Charles - a few favorites

Loving the work of artist & designer Raphael Charles. He works and resides in Brussels. Below are just a few of my favorite pieces ... for more examples of his work; hop on to his stunning minimalist website.

[Above] RUG 2008

20/30 refers to a standard caliber of coal. The idea of a rug imposed itself naturally just like a bag of nuggets strewn on the floor. This surface offers a sensory upheaval by confronting what is commonly known and what is perceived in reality. This intriguing piece borders between design and plastic intervention with a touch of irony while raising essential questions for our future.

Dimensions: diameter: 240cm, thickness: variable
Materials: PE foam and felt.

[Above] Les Cheminees - VASES 2006

The vases are made of 35mm film .Taking advantage of a material resisting to mechanical constraint, the vases are formed in an easy, almost childlike manner. The result each time gives a unique piece depending on the random superposing of the film when stretched. Although handmade, the vase are however, of a quality and finish very close to an industrial production.

Dimensions: S/M/L/XL/XXL from 20 to 40cm
Materials: polyester (35mm film) pu resin

[Above] Light Strate - LIGHT 2005-2006

This wall lamp, looking like a sculpture shows itself off by diffusing a soothing lighting thanks to the layers obtained during its production process : a piece of foam is rolled onto itself, shaped and then rubber-coated.

Materials: polyethylene foam, aluminum, rubber, E 27 60W bulb
Dimensions : 60, 110 et 140 cm.

More at http://www.raphaelcharles.com/

Panamarenko quits to make coffee ?!?!

Panamarenko (Antwerp, 1940) is an exceptional and unclassifiable figure in contemporary art, who has been described as 'one of the great creators of the end of the century'. Artist, Engineer, Poet, Physicist, Inventor and Visionary, and has for thirty years pursued a singular course of exploration of space, movement, flight, energy and the force of gravity. His work, fusing artistic and technological experiment, takes many forms: Aeroplanes, flying carpets, cars, flying saucers, submarines and birds. Spectacular structures of strange beauty, both playful and inspiring.

This post from Ine Dehandschutter via http://www.behive.be/art/artists/


Frustrated Belgian aircraft designer and artist quits the art field to take up coffee making: 'Panamajumbo'.

"Panamarenko's experimental flying machines modeled on the motion of birds, insects, and human craft have been greeted with wonder and acclaim since the 1960s. In his exploration of the potentially fertile relationships linking technology and nature, Panamarenko considers issues of imagination as well as function.

Since the mid-1960s, he has invented flying machines that combine primitive forms with technologically sophisticated materials in his search to resolve practical mechanical problems as well as to probe metaphysical dilemmas. In addition to building and testing speculative models, Panamarenko has developed singular theories on the nature of closed systems, electromagnetism, and the relationship between inertia and mass."

The name Panamarenko is supposedly an acronym for Pan American Airlines and Company. In 2005 he retired from art to promote his own coffee-brand, PanamaJumbo.


This post from http://meinekleinefabrik.blogspot.com/2007/02/frustrated-belgian-aircraft-designer.html