April 15 – May 23, 2015
Wetterling Gallery is delighted to present the international and renowned artist Jan Fabre, exhibiting for the first time at a Swedish gallery.
Opening reception Tuesday, April 14, 6-8 pm.
The exhibition is on view at until May 23, 2015.
The exhibition, Tribute to Hieronymus Bosch in Congo (2011-2013), is a dedication to the Dutch artist Hieronymus Bosch. Fabre shares Bosch’s fascination for subjects like death, malice and desire, which Jan Fabre depicts in a symbolic way in his artworks.
On display are grand mosaic artworks in fantastic colors – a spectrum of vivid green, glimmering gold, to deep blue. Looking more carefully at the shimmering artwork you realize that they are made out of thousands of beetle wings, creating patterns and symbols. The exhibition is an artistic and critical reflection on the Belgium’s colonial past and the horrific slavery that took place in Congo during the reign of Leopold II (1885-1908).
Jan Fabre
Jan Fabre, born in Antwerpen 1958, occupies different media and multifaceted practices as an artist; theatre director, film maker, choreographer, author and visual artist.
Jan Fabre has continuously been working with beetle wings and one of his most remarkable oeuvres is the “Heaven of Delight” for the Royal Palace of Belgium in Brussels, 2002. Commissioned by the Queen Paula of Belgium, Fabre created a monumental ceiling painting in the Colonial Hall, an artwork consisting of 1,6 million beetles created by the assistance of 25 co-workers working full-time for several months.
Another of Fabre’s most comprehensive works is the series The Years of the Hour Blue, drawn with blue ballpoint bic-pen made during a period of 15 years.
Jan Fabre has exhibited at numerous galleries around the world, at the Louvre, Paris, MAXXI Museum, Rome, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna and at the Venice Biennial. Fabre has created gigantic sculptures in marble, bronze, sculptured portraits of himself, made numerous public works, and his own theatre company Troubleyn continuously tours his performances.
Image: Skull with Cote D’Or Insignia (2013)
WETTERLING GALLERY
Kungsträdgården 3 Stockholm
info@wetterlinggallery.com
www.wetterlinggallery.com
