ONE MAN-SHOW STIJN ANK
Stijn Ank
Born 1977, Belgium. Lives and works in Brussels and Berlin.
Endless Column
"In this work, which is a twist at the art historical and architectural trope of the column, the artist manages to emphasize the process of pouring even more by also implicating the raw material that could be used in the production process. By piling sand bags, he made a high rectangular tower. Inside, he poured hectoliters of plaster. When removing the bags once the plaster was coagulated, a tall vertical sculpture arose. Not only the movement of casting is fixed in the final sculpture, also the laws of gravity by which bags lying at the bottom of the tower are more crushed than those on top. It is sculpture in its purest form, illustrating laws of gravity while creating volume with absence. The work consists purely of negative space and is, as such, a summary of Ank’s artistic practice. A practice where absence is the highest form of presence." (Sam Steverlinck)
Fresco
"Fresco painting, which flourished in the fourteenth century - “al fresco” literally means “upon the fresh (plaster) - is a wall-painting technique in which pigment dissolved in water is applied to fresh lime plaster. Chemical processes permanently fix particles in the plaster. A similar amalgamation of pigment and plaster also defines Ank’s work.
The artist his works strike a fine balance between painting and sculpture. His output is informed by questions such as: How much or how little volume can a sculpture occupy before it ceases to be spatial? To what extent can sculpture be pure surface, and surface itself give rise to space? Where does surface end and space begin?
The technique makes the visual outcome difficult to predict. Ank builds casting molds into which he fills the void with layers of liquid pigmented plaster. His focus is less on compositional aspects than on what he describes as an “inner space” that resonates with the beholder’s interaction with the work." (Jens Asthoff)
EXCLUSIVE: JANA CORDENIER
Jana Cordenier
Born 1989, Belgium. Lives and works in Brussels and Berlin.
“With touches of pure colour, Jana Cordenier manages to catch the impression of a summer walk in a garden, when the light is as bright as it can get and the colours of flowers flourish. Interested in the structures of those flowers, she can evoke the lightness that comes along with it.” (Hanne Vogelaers)
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