Holiday Escape / Inside

December and January are all about family celebrations, Christmas joy and good intentions.
For those who want to escape from the festivities for a bit, we selected various walks and exhibitions close to home.
Highly recommended to start the new year well.

Brancusi Atelier in Paris

Left to right : Constantin Brancusi – Le Poisson, 1924-1926 / Constantin Brancusi – Muse, 1912 / Portrait of Constantin Brancusi

BRANCUSI – BOZAR
Since 1969, Europalia, the international art festival, has organised art biennials featuring various guest countries. During four months, a varied programme features hundreds of artistic events in Europa. In Bozar, Europalia presents the largest Brancusi exhibition in 25 years. Constantin Brancusi is without doubt one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. With his fascinating sculptures he is a pioneer of modernism and a source of inspiration for numerous artists. Apart from sculptor, he is also an exceptional photographer who left a less known, but wonderful volume of work.
The exhibition focuses on both aspects of his work and brings
Brancusi to Belgium for the first time, giving a unique view of the artist and his studio, where his artistic contemporaries often gathered. The exhibition shows top pieces from museums and private collections from all over the world, such as ‘Sleeping Muse’, ‘The Kiss’ and ‘Leda’. Apart from these iconic sculptures, the exhibition also includes breath-taking photography and images as well as work by, amongst others, Marcel Duchamp, Medardo Rosso and Auguste Rodin.

Exhibition view of Couturissisme

left to right : Bookcover of Thierry Mugler Photographer, 1988 / Thierry Mugler And Model, 1978 by Peter Lindbergh / Yasmin Le Bon, Palladium, London, 1997


THIERRY MUGLER – KUNSTHAL ROTTERDAM
Women’s fashion from the eighties: broad shoulders, slim waist, high heels. Such was the fashion designed by Thierry Mugler. Until 8th March, Kunsthal Rotterdam presents the very first retrospective about the French fashion designer. It showcases the various universes of his work, focusing on his ready-to-wear and haute couture collections. There are more than 150 outfits to be seen, as well as accessories that have never been shown before and theatre costumes, clips and videos, archives and sketches. Hundreds of photos by modern-day fashion photographers, such as Guy Bourdin, Jean Paul Goude, David LaChapelle, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts and Dominique Issermann are also shown. The exhibition was curated by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in cooperation with Clarins Group and Maison Mugler. After the world premiere in Montreal the exhibition will travel around the world. As a cooperating partner, Kunsthal Rotterdam is the first venue in Europe where this spectacular retrospective is shown.

Exhibition view of Wonderkamer II

WOUTERS & HENDRIX – DIVA
In the coming years, the Antwerp diamond museum DIVA will invite exceptional guest curators to present their interpretation of a Wonderkamer. For the second Room of Wonder, design duo Wouters & Hendrix were given carte blanche to investigate and express what surprises and inspires them. Jewellery designers Katrin Wouters and Karen Hendrix have been designing and making unusual jewellery in their Antwerp workshop since 1984. With a shared passion for surrealism, they change the rules of traditional jewellery making and the way jewellery is worn. Their pieces are unexpected combinations of materials and techniques. In the exhibition Room of Wonder II you enter the world of Wouters & Hendrix. Their own designs are in sharp contrast with jewellery and art that have been worn and produced through the ages. You can see work by, amongst others, Oscar Jespers, Marina Yee & Martin Margiela, Man Ray and Marcel Mariën, but also flea market finds. A beautiful, playful exhibition.

Paul Ibou Metamorphosis book, 1968 / Work by Sophie Alouf

OFF THE GRID – DESIGN MUSEUM GHENT
Sara De Bondt works in London as a graphic designer for various clients including Barbican Art Gallery, Tate Modern and Bozar. In Off the Grid she explores the principles of graphic design in Belgium in the sixties and seventies, a part of history that has so far been neglected. The exhibition presents a large range of prints, objects, books and posters by designers such as Paul Ibou, Corneille, Sofie Alouf, Rob Buytaert, Herman Lampaert and Jeanine Behaeghel. Also included is new work that was specifically made for this exhibition, nicely fitting in with the architecture by British designer and furniture designer Michael Marriott. A beautiful exhibition giving a new view on graphic design.

designmuseumgent.be

Words by Stephanie De Smet