[TANK EXHIBITION] Interview with Valérie Mannaerts

Convex/Concave: Belgian Contemporary Art
Curated by Dirk Snauwaert and Charlotte Friling
October 31st, 2019 - January 12th, 2020

Convex or concave directions – in perception, perspectives and reflections – have come to symbolize the multiple exchanges and interrelations of subjectivity. These reflections, stand-ins for the dualism in subjectivity, symbolize the opposing tendencies of an inner self vis-à-vis an outer world – of a gaze turned inwards in contemplation – and of an extrovert and engaging gaze turned outwards. This dualism, defining of the very conception of subjectivity or identity and of the self, is the lens through which this gathering of contemporary Belgian artists has been organized, since that dualism captures a general characteristic, not only of modernity, but also of the artistic endeavors, and singularity, of Belgian artists. In addition, the choice for this organizing principle finds echoes in the ways in which Chinese artists and intellectuals have tackled modes of representation and dominant paradigms and, in so doing, have transformed the convex-concave dialectics into playful or meditative attitudes to self-awareness.

About the Artist:

A sculptor as much as a painter, Valérie Mannaerts (b. 1974 in Belgium, where she lives and works) has developed a personal language characterized by her fascination with the real and the surreal. Her oeuvre, which unites the strength of drawing and sculpting, moves between the second and third dimensions.

She explores the physiognomic qualities of things, questioning the relation between organic and inorganic forms, the presence and autonomy of objects, and inquiring into the sedimented histories inscribed in them. Her work dwells in the borderline between image and object, in ways that are reminiscent of surrealist and, later, feminist preoccupations with material and image culture, corporeality and states of consciousness.

TANK Website: http://www.tankshanghai.com/en/
Exhibition Page: http://www.tankshanghai.com/en/exhibitions/info26.htm

Видео [TANK EXHIBITION] Interview with Valérie Mannaerts канала TANK Shanghai 上海油罐艺术中心