21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

Michaël Borremans

Born 1963 in Geraardsbergen, Belgium; lives and works in Ghent, Belgium. Fascinated by the techniques and themes of western painting tradition as seen in the work of artists like Velasquez and Manet, Borremans perceives painting as a universal language serving as a window on imaginary worlds. The influence of conceptual art, which rejects concrete meaning and narrative, is very much evident in his works, which possess a singular aura that conveys the disquiet and danger lurking in the everyday, via subjects rich in anomalies and ambiguities. In recent years Borremans has also expanded his practice to include painting-derived works on video. He has had solo exhibitions at Galerie Rudolfinum (2020, Prague, Czech Republic), Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo (2014, Tokyo), and S.M.A.K., Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent (2005, Ghent, Belgium), among others; has been invited to participate in international exhibitions including the Biennale of Sydney (2018, Australia), Yokohama Triennale (2011, Japan), Berlin Biennale (2006, Germany), and Manifesta 5 (2004, San Sebastian, Spain); and in 2010 produced a series of commissioned works for the Monarchy of Belgium exhibited at the Royal Palace in Brussels.

Mark Manders

Born 1968 in Volkel, the Netherlands; lives and works in Ronse, Belgium. Since Manders adopted the concept of “Self-Portrait as Building” in 1986, all his works have constituted part of a single, mammoth, self-portrait. Although his drawings and sculptures could be described as complete in themselves, they are partially interchangeable, and evolve continuously and organically according to how they are combined in his “imaginary rooms.” Manders’ installations are imbued with an imperishable, universal quality, as if frozen in a certain moment in time, and evoke in the viewer feelings of calm, and absence. Manders participated in the São Paulo Biennale (1998, Brazil) and represented the Netherlands at the Dutch Pavilion at the 55th Venice Biennale (2013, Italy). Recent solo outings include a large-scale exhibition at the Bonnefantenmuseum (2020, Maastricht, Netherlands) and monumental outdoor sculptures for the Public Art Fund (2019, Central Park, New York, USA) and the Rokin Square (2017, Amsterdam, the Netherlands).

The House of Opportunity (The Chance of Lifetime)

From 2002 to 2007, houses with Dutch-style roofs and innumerable windows were a favorite motif for Borremans in his drawings and oil paintings. The figures in the picture, their size, and the connection between figures and house are all very much an enigma. Yet were you to imagine something real while looking at the work, for you this would be a muddying of imagination and reality, and one could only say you had been hooked by Borremans’ seductive take on free association. Though House of Opportunity forms a theatrical painterly space of sorts, it is uncertain whether the light and shadow here reflect any specific meaning or subjectiveness.

Automat (I)

Automat (I) depicts a girl with a plait, hands clasped lightly behind her back, but on closer inspection we see that the lower limbs one would expect to find under her skirt are missing, making it appear that she has been cut in half and just her upper body placed on a stand. What’s more, the hint of shadow beneath the hem of her skirt gives her an unnatural air of hovering in space. Borremans’ original concept was for a sculpture of just a skirt rotating automatically, and he did subsequently also present Skirt Sculpture (2014). He developed the concept over a number of years into a series of variations, including drawings, as well the oil painting The Skirt, and the 35mm film Weight. With its traversing of different media, for example the presence even in a painted work of sculptural elements – the emphasis on a monumental quality and material volume – Automat (I) displays the distinguishing features of Borremans’ oeuvre to superb effect.

The Angel

Deviating considerably from the common vision of an angel, with its black face and superhuman scale there is something incongruous about Borremans’ creation. In a human, the muscular arms protruding from sleeves, large hands, wide shoulders and short hair would likely belong to a male, but in its entirety, the gender of Borremans’ angel is less clear. The model for this work, which has been called Borremans’ “Mona Lisa,” was Belgian top model Hannelore Knuts. Her listless standing pose, with eyes downcast, is calm and quiescent, all bubbling human emotion and sensation lost, and radiates a sense of isolation too. Characteristics featuring frequently in figures by Borremans are very much in evidence in this leading example of his work.

Fox / Mouse / Belt (fragment from Self-portrait as a building)

The earliest work in “Double Silence,” this is an important piece that incorporates in its subtitle the “self-portrait as a building” concept adopted by Manders in 1986 at the start of his career. Here self-portrait refers not so much to an actual self-portrait of the conventional sort, as an all-embracing portrait of Manders’ reflections, emotions, memories and ideas. According to the artist, this sculpture of a fox and mouse, tied together with a belt, originated from a series of three separate words. The word “fox” consists of a jumping fox that he froze mid-leap, caught at a moment in time. He then used his own belt to tie a mouse to the fox’s stomach, into which the mouse would normally disappear. Through the simple gesture of lying them on the ground, he realized the “unit” sank deeper into motionless, and that the stylization created “an unbelievable standstill without a ‘before’ or ‘after.’”

Composition with Four Yellow Verticals

Manders’ latest work is a striking sculptural piece in which four lengths of yellow wood are inserted vertically into the faces of human figures. The sculptures appear to be cracked clay, but are in fact cast bronze that has been colored. The busts are all positioned at different angles, their subtle variations in size creating perspective. Walking around them, one is prompted to note that things have multiple viewpoints, and change occurs through creation by the onlooker. Belying its lack of material bulk, the intervention of the pieces of wood on the faces, in overall terms minor in volume, has a power that threatens the entire foundation of the work.

Composition with Two Colours

Language plays a vital role in the practice of Mark Manders, and a connection between language and ideas can be identified in most of his works. The newspaper is a recurring motif in his artistic endeavors involving language. Based on a rule that he created, the newspaper includes every word from the English dictionary, only once, in random order. Items of English vocabulary are arranged with no regard for grammatical order, however including edited sections for example hidden by overpainting or collage, may include notable words related to the work. Despite the small dimensions of the page, as long as one can keep coming up with new combinations of the words, there is endless potential for play in an imaginary world separate from reality.
Regarding the two colors: for a long time, Manders only used color when it was inherent to the material he was using. Slowly he found ways to integrate it, and he has a strong preference for the color yellow. Here, however, the two colors are of an indeterminate hue; not exactly yellow, nor orange, somewhere in between, they are colors without a name.

MICHAËL BORREMANS MARK MANDERS: Double Silence

Contents included:
-Installation views and plates
-Essays
“Swallowed Sentences: Encounters in the Work of Mark Manders and Michaël Borremans” by Martin Germann (Independent Curator)
“Double Silence” by KUROSAWA Hiromi (Chief Curator, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa)
-List of works etc.


Specifications: 270 x 210 mm/164 pages
Publishers: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

To be sold: Museum Shop at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa