The nocturnes are a great way to explore the art scene in Antwerp. It is a night filled with evening openings of galleries and art spaces. In the case of Borger these spaces are located in the Borgerhout, Zurenborg and Berchem area. Last Friday was another edition of this arty farty night out, and of course This is Antwerp was present. Unfortunately we weren’t able to start our Borger night at 6pm, which means we didn't make it to every gallery. But we still saw some interesting stuff.
We started at , where work of the Canadian artist Marianne Rothen was shown. E.k.t.i.n. (Everybody Knows This is Knowhere) is a series of set photography that Rothen made during the shooting of the movie with the same name. The nostalgic-romantic images were shot in the southern highlands of Australia, but it looked like any other nature surrounding. The reserved images of the women in Rothen’s work create a beautiful energy in the space of this gallery.
Ingrid Deuss Gallery
Provinciestraat 11 :: 2018 Antwerp
The had a solo exhibition of Katrin Kamrau. Her work departs from a social concern about values in our Western culture and her methods are multi-layered and humorous. Das Objekt , the exhibition in Stilll gallery, shows a chronological evolution of graphical drawings in photography manuals used in the Dutch language area between 1921 and 2002. In this exhibition she gives the viewer the possibility of an interactive context. You could use pencils to colour some of the work that was hanging on the wall.
Stilll Gallery
Laar 12 :: 2140 Borgerhout
After the Stilll gallery we went to where you could step into a wonderful world of Lieven Segers. After you enter the building you can go into a trippy hallway with psychedelic wallpaper and really cool work. From there we moved to Projectspace Studio Start, where it was quite crowded. Not only because of the Cointreau Fizz bar they had outside, but mainly (I hope) because of the amazing work by Fia Cielen, Kristien Dirkx and Maryam Najd. The 3 artists intellectually and personally challenged each other within their work. The starting point for the work in this exposition was how an artist can be devoted within the obstacles of the contemporary art world. Invisible Shine of Paradox is a conversation between two paradoxical ideas. Geometric abstract forms in the work of Kristien Dirkx, the Hybrid work of Fia Cielen which deals with metamorphoses and transgression and the abstract/figurative paintings of Maryam Najd. Personally I really liked the beautiful and massive installations of Fia Cielen.
Base-Alpha Gallery
Kattenberg 12 :: 2140 Borgerhout
The great space of gives room to the intriguing drawings of Patrick van Caeckenbergh ( Het Muziekbos ). This very detailed drawing are intriguing because at first sight it really looks like a photograph. But a closer looks shows that these really are drawings. Besides this solo exhibition you can also view the work of Anton Corbijn, Kees Goudzwaard, Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven and Christof Yvoré here.
Zeno X Gallery
Godtstraat 15 :: 2140 Borgerhout
From there we moved further down into Zurenborg, and on our way we saw BRDG, a projection in the pedestrian tunnel between Oostenstraat and Mercatorstraat. Unfortunately Eva Steynen en LLS387 were (already) closed, so we ended our evening in the majestic building of .
Gallery Sofie Van de Velde
Lange Leemstraat 262 :: 2018 Antwerp
22nd of January 2016 opens at 6pm
Text by Maaike van Milt
Pics by Maaike van Milt