Hans Theys

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    Hans Theys is a twentieth-century philosopher and art historian. He has written and designed dozens of books on the works of contemporary artists and published hundreds of essays, interviews and reviews in books, catalogues and magazines. All his publications are based on actual collaborations and conversations with artists.

    This platform was developed by Evi Bert (M HKA / Centrum Kunstarchieven Vlaanderen) in collaboration with the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (Research group Archivolt), M HKA, Antwerp and Koen Van der Auwera. We also thank Idris Sevenans (HOR) and Marc Ruyters (Hart Magazine).

    ESSAYS, INTERVIEWS & REVIEWS

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    xpo - 2023 - People, Places and Things [EN, gallery text]
    Hans Theys
    Interview , 2 p.

     

     

     

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    Carla Van Campenhout

     

     

    The Realm of Difference

    Interview with Hans Theys

     

     

    - You bring together works that apparently have little to do with each other, is that the intention?

    HT: Indeed. I am very happy that Pieter-Jan Peeters of Kleine Goddaard gave me the freedom to bring together all the works that I considered appropriate for this exhibition. Their similarities are greater than their differences. They are all well made, they are all personal, and they all spring from a lifelong passion. In the case of Victoria Parvanova, this is a political involvement that is combined with a specific, personal form and a longing for beauty. Her flat paintings depart from a world in which fashion models, YouTube influencers, the adventures of Barbie, colouring books from the nineties, kitsch, icons of so-called high culture, and bimbo-feminism follow or overlap seamlessly. But every artistic act takes a political stand, if only by expressing a desire for another world, for more experiential knowledge, more insight, more beauty, more breathing space.

     

    - Some people distinguish different styles or schools in the art world, which they deem incompatible.

    HT: Our brain likes to attach meaning to things to better remember or forget them. This makes us forget that things that mean something to us – like a tree for instance – don’t require a meaning to do this. Splitting art into schools and so-called styles is a way of addressing something without really grasping it. The same applies to all manifestations of diversity in nature and art. Some people like to classify them and try to find similarities. Others trust their senses and look for the differences, which are a source of endless pleasure.

     

    - Pleasure?

    HT: Jorik Dzobava and Dieter Ingels make wonderful paintings that stem from paint and secret dreams. They are craftsmen, obviously. Yet their oeuvres are not alike. That diversity moves me.

     

    - Is emotion important to you?

    HT: If we're lucky, things move us. As a result, we feel less alone, I believe. We feel the passion of like-minded people, their attention to the unsightly, their energy, their efforts to transcend fear, despondency, and paralysis.

     

    - And the sculptors?

    HT: Again, we see many personal differences, yet we feel the same passion. Laurence Petrone made the first work I have seen in which marble, rope, metal and literature meet. Fran Van Coppenolle creates volumes with textile in the same way as Panamarenko did with steel. Simon Masschelein developed a new way of bringing sculpted stone and wood together with welded steel and glue. Jef De Coster sawed and painted 1000 magnetic plates that cover the outside of two radiators like clinging scales or crustaceans. A disturbing work, playing with light and shadow, visual patterns and social customs. Disturbing because it expresses great freedom. Together they form a nomadic instant sculpture. Difficult to control. Hazel Ver Moesen makes thin metal sculptures that rhythm the space with colorful accents. Minimal. Elegant.

     

    - You like difference?

    HT: The dream of freedom is revealed by difference. We understand that we are allowed to be different as well. That we may be ourselves, as much as possible.

     

    - I am really fond of Pieter-Jan Peeters' stone clogs: two pieces of wall found in the cellar, fitted with straps so that you can wear them.

    HT: Ha! The Surveyor! Also a nomadic work, clear, simple, functional. A work that evokes images, because you can go out with it everywhere. More practical than Misha Rogachev's paper shoes.

     

    - Beautiful clogs! Floating, architectural…

    HT: There's also Yi Zhang's almost invisible 100-meter-long, knotted hair, which rolls off a spool and has been passed through the eyes of three needles. And then there are the comical, ingenious paintings of Flexboj & L.A., the ceramic gaiety of Bernadette Zdrazil, the irony of Idris Sevenans and Tomas Beaujean, the epistolary poetry of Quinten Stimm, the meta-painting-sculptures of Marie-Sophie Beinke…

     

    - You seem to be taking this very seriously.

    HT: I still have to work on that, that's right. I'm too naive. But according to my doctor, indifference and cynicism are within my reach. So there is still hope.

     

     

    Fontaine d’Amour, 30 March 2023

     

     

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