30.Sep.2023
08:00
Departure at S.M.A.K.
11:00 – 15:30
Studio visit | Thé Van Bergen
Wittimont (Luxemburg, Belgium)
"... The artist is direct and fundamental in what is depicted, and direct and uncompromising in how it ends up on the canvas. Between arriving and leaving in his studio, there is sometimes the heater, in the winter months, but always there is the radio to "dash to the rhythm" and the desire for that which he calls "a new experience". His painting is an attempt to "liquidate" that which irritates as spontaneously as possible with that which is at hand; by, say, moving from in one direction perpendicular to the other on the canvas with finger or brush, making a "movement-against movement red-white 3" or a "circular movement clockwise" with stroke or smudge; by working that which was already there off the canvas with one intense gesture, creating the possibility of a new beginning and ultimately an image. See the leg of "the chair" that initially also held "the table" or a stem of a flower and thus "the garden". Or look at the many layers of paint, the rows of years and the recurring motifs the works bear witness to. ..." from a text by Liene Aerts
18:00
Check-in Hotel Van der Valk.
Bergen
01.Oct.2023
11:00 – 12:30
Visit to MAC’s Grand Hornu | Angel Vergara. Dans l'instant
Fifteen years ago, the exhibition El pintor focused on the series Les Voisins, nos amis,14 vivid portraits of local residents of Grand-Hornu created by Angel Vergara to mark the fifth anniversary of MACS. This time, the oeuvre of this extraordinary artist - which cannot be categorised into a single box - is placed in a broader perspective: a retrospective of his paintings. The museum trail begins with 'paintings' made by a group of visually impaired children during a workshop devised by the painter. The trajectory in the exhibition reconstructs the evolution of his art practice: from the first 'painted films' he made in the 1980s in super 8 format, it goes through a typical classical gallery with large canvases to video equipment recording the painting process. Whether with a performance, an installation or a video recording, Angel Vergara has always given 'the act of painting' a central place in his paintings and emphasised his presence in the social space, by standing painting himself while disguised under a canvas, by way of a mobile studio. In this way, the artist - aka Straatman - has been 'taking to the streets' for more than 30 years with painting, which he drenches in the incessant flow of life. This allows him to recreate - like a jazz musician - the syncopated rhythms and - like a filmmaker - the movements of life. Early in his practice, he created an opening for fantasy, making him indebted to Fluxus and akin to the poetic and political art of Marcel Broodthaers. With his 'painted films', created through the combined use of a camera, a glass plate and a colour accent, he attempts to reconcile art and life by synchronising painting and world in a ceaseless game of coverage and transparency. Remaining above all an "industrious painter", Angel Vergara tirelessly pursues the dream of a painting that is constantly evolving, continuing to delay its completion while promising us that the painting could be finished at any moment.
12:30 – 14:30
Lunch at MACs
15:30 – 16:30
Studio visit | Tamara Van San
Ronse
Van San (°1982, Antwerp) studied sculpture at Sint-Lucas in Antwerp. Soon she abandoned classical modelling and experimented with all kinds of non-classical materials and shapes in bright colours. Since a few years, she works mainly in clay with brightly coloured glazes. She makes spatial sculptural installations for indoor and outdoor use, as well as small-scale sculptures for more intimate settings. In her work, she plays a spontaneous game with the basic sculptural elements of volume, shape and colour.
The artist has work in the S.M.A.K. collection.
16:30 – 17:00
Coffee break in Ronse.
18:00
Back at S.M.A.K.
Price : 455 euro | 515 euro in single room
Inscription until 30 May: info@vriendensmak.be
