Restoning and criticism: The new Belgian painting

About 150 works of seventy -four artists born from the seventies are part of “Painting After Painting”, new and ambitious collective in the Smak of Gante who wants to offer a review of the panorama of the painting in Belgium (which not necessarily Belgian) in recent years, attending to both their theoretical developments and to the practical and without pretending exhaustivity.

It is the most extensive exposure of this type in that country in the last quarter of the century and it comes to remember that the good moment of that discipline in the Belgian context connects both its resurgence globally and with the long tradition of this medium in the area of Flanders since the time of Jan van Eyck.

Given the complex national identity of Belgium, it would not be very useful to limit the field of study of this sample to the current borders of that country, so the geography has not been a criterion when it comes to structuring this sample: the selected authors have resided in Belgium for a long period, sometimes they continue to do so today, and in any case they embody the international character of this genre of this genre.

It starts the tour with creations of the younger generations of painters to advance exhibiting those of those who began working at the beginning of this century, thus drawing a gradual evolution from the critical questioning and the reinvention of the canvas of the last years until one time, that of the beginning of the 2000 The facilities. Today, this project recalls, no one expects artists to justify their reasons when choosing some and other techniques and formats; It is also underlined that, although contemporary painting is not exempt from ideological tensions, these are not limited to the act of painting, but expand to a broader discursive panorama: we will have the opportunity to reflect on the links between this medium and visual culture, modernity, the production of economic value and technology.

When comparing the concerns of the novel painters with those of those who are in their medium career stage, we will glimpse the inevitable evolution of their interests in the path towards maturity and, also, their growing look towards past, diverse stages, of the history of art. The daily life, political and social or identity, gender and representation, as well as more abstract or more formalistic languages.

The title of this exhibition, “Painting After Painting”, can generate controversy by giving a very debated obsolescence of the painting around the change of the century, but in its last approaches, this proposal wants occasions, merely procedural.

This SMAK project will allow not a few discoveries, as many names will not be known to the Spanish public: Adam Leech, Anastasia Bayanna Zachaoff, Anne Van Boxelaere, Anthony Ngoy Carlotta Bailly-Borg, Carole Vanderlinden, Charline Tyberghein, Charlotte Vandenbroucke, Che Go Eun, Diego Herman, Dieter Durinck, Emmanuelle Quertain, Felix de Clercq, Frederik Lizen, Gijs Milius, Hadssah Emmerich, Hannah de Cut Kaarstein, Jannis Marwitz, Jérôme Degive & Manuel Falcata, Joëlle Dubois, Jonas Dehnen, Julien Mert, Julien Saudubray, Karel Thienpont, Kati Heck, Koen Van Den Breek, Kristof Santy, Leen Voet, Libasse Ka, Lisa Vlaemminck, Loïc van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van van Zeebroek, Louise Delanghe, Luís Lázaro Matos, Lysandre Begijn, Mae Desssauge, Marie Zolamian, Matthieu Ronsse, Melissa Gordon, Michaël Van den Abele, Michiel Ceuler, Monika Stricker, Natasja Mabesone, Nel Aerts, Nelleke Cloosterman, Nelson Louis, Nina Gross, Nokukhanya Langa, Pieter Jennes, Pieter Vermeersch, Samuel Hindolo, Sanam Khatibi, Sarah Smolders, Shirley Villavicencio, Pizango, Stijn Cole, Tatjana Gerhard, Thom Trojanowski, Tina Gillen, Vedran Kopljar (& Pares) Veerle Beckers, Victoria Palacios, Vincent Geyskens, William Ludwig Lutgens and Yann Freichels.

All his paintings in Gante are dated in the last three years and several have been devised specifically for this museum. The assembly includes the recreation of an artist’s study, by Nico Dockx, VOET Architectuur and Studio Zuidervaart, in which the public will be able to perform its own explorations in the pictorial medium during the opening hours of the center.