WIELS and TANK Shanghai are collaborating on a large thematic exhibition Convex/Concave: Belgian Contemporary Art, featuring 15 contemporary Belgian artists:
Francis Alÿs, Harold Ancart, Michaël Borremans, Jacques Charlier, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Edith Dekyndt, Michel François, Ann Veronica Janssens, Thomas Lerooy, Mark Manders, Valérie Mannaerts, Luc Tuymans, Sophie Whettnall
The selection of works made by WIELS is based on a reflection on the dualist nature of all modern art, departing more specifically from the model of Belgian artists, on extroversion and self-centredness, a convex/concave dynamic that relates to and finds an echo in the way artists represent and imagine an equilibrium between self and world. The capacity to make precise, detailed observations of the tangible, everyday world instead of relying on grand philosophical, abstract and conceptual schemes makes up the singularity of the art of the Low Countries, an ability that shares many similarities with Chinese artists. The exhibition elaborates on the convex/concave dualism between an exteriorisation, relation-oriented worldview and an inward, protectionist view.
