Things to look forward to in 2021, we can’t have enough.
Legendary Antwerp Six fashion designer and acclaimed artist Dirk Van Saene is set to draw the curtain back on his new solo exhibition 'Stories of hope and despair' at Gallery Sofie Van de Velde in Antwerp at the start of the new year. We will all be treated to a novel series of singular manifestations in ceramic sculptures from January 16 until February 20 2021. Bookmarked!
In a statement prefacing the expo, Dirk Van Saene outlined how he’s been feeling creating these works: “My sculptures are the dramatists of their own story, not only in their material, colors and shapes but also in the history that they carry or that I assign to them. Both as a fashion designer and as an artist I create for an audience, and an audience is best reached with stories.”
If you’ve gotten your hands on the new monograph “I’LL WEAR IT UNTIL I’M DEAD - THE SONG FASHION ARCHIVES”, you will have gotten a chance to meet earlier characters and faces Dirk Van Saene crafted to add new layers to his clothing. In this expo, his cast of characters are embodiments of emotions: “Just like certain images, emotions can also surprise you, capture you and hold on. And this is what interests me, spitting out, eroding those extreme feelings. I refer to mythical and historical characters, with whom I feel a relationship, but also to people from my inner circle. And because of that, there is also a great biographical stake, I talk about myself. In this exhibition I write and show my own history, as if it were a lexicon of filiations.”
In the meantime, as we look forward to showing up for this unmissable expo, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde and PLUS-ONE Gallery have teamed up for the second edition of ‘Wunderwall’: an online/real-life art auction featuring the works of up-and-coming artists, the proceeds of which support the #art_feeds initiative. With Art Feeds, the idea is to garner more visibility and support for emerging artists, while supporting other people affected by the COVID-19 crisis. Twenty percent of each artwork sold is donated to the Antwerp food banks. For every two euros donated, one meal can be prepared. You can see all the available artworks and support by going here.
(c) Dirk Van Saene via Gallery Sofie Van de Velde
Stay tuned for more info on 'Stories of hope and despair', opening mid-January.
'Stories of hope and despair', Dirk Van Saene
January 16 – February 20
Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Nieuw Zuid
Léon Stynenstraat 21
2000 Antwerp
BELGIUM
Tuesday - Sunday, 1 – 6 PM
No reservations required. Please note that wearing a face mask is mandatory.
