二月 20, 2019

27 January - 21 April 2019

With the 'The Gulf Between', de Warande presents an exhibition about black, white and everything in between. The title refers to the first American film production in technicolor. This film from 1917 has largely been lost. Only a few fragments still exist.

In the work of the artists in this exhibition, tones of gray show the upper hand. The disappearance of color is part of the core of their practice. In this way they create a world that connects with reality in a different way. This tonal world reflects reality as we experience it as a non-objective participant. The reality where memories, visions, and estrangement make their mark. That is why - contrary to what we suspect hearing the word gray - these works are far from dull, and often contain a great deal of tension.

When color photography made its appearance, photographers remained stuck to black-and-white photography. Because the possibilities of expression are different. Even in painting, there are early examples of black / white or gray works. Just think of the grisaille technique that already appears in the 15th century. These works are often a kind of game of illusion or trompe l'oeil. They show the technical mastery of the artist. It was not until the 20th century that artists began exploring the possibilities of omitting color as a means of expression in painting, for example the Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert at the beginning of the century.

In the 1980s, specifically in Belgium, the movement within the painting in which the color deteriorated, with painters such as Luc Tuymans and Bert De Beul. And more recently, there are artists who have driven this even further to extremes. For example, artists like Hans Op de Beeck who also applied this in sculpture. The omission of color has therefore been given a permanent place in different media, for example in terms of obvious charcoal drawings, but also in painting, sculpture, video art, and so on.

In this exhibition de Warande brings together a rich selection of contemporary artworks in a palette of black, white and gray that make you experience the power of colorlessness in different ways.