Me Somewhere Else

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by Chiharu Shiota

‘‘Chiharu Shiota’s (Osaka, 1972) spectacular installations transform the spaces in which they unfold, and immerse the visitor in the artist’s universe. They combine textile materials such as wool and cotton with various elements, sculpted shapes or used objects.

The artist combines performance, body art and installation in a process that places the body at its center. Her protean artistic practice explores the notions of temporality, movement, memory and dream; and requires both the mental and physical involvement of the spectator. Chiharu Shiota’s highly acclaimed participation in the Venice Biennale, where she represented Japan in 2015, confirmed the international scope of her work.

Me Somewhere Else (2018), a work of great visual strength, occupies a very special place in the artist’s production. Shiota talks about her fight against her illness, and the certainty that her mind will survive her body. “Before I was diagnosed with cancer I thought that if I die, everything about me is going to die; I am going to die, but now I know only my body dies – not my mind. My mind remains somewhere else.”

Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium

October 19th, 2019

Multipli.city

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A fusion of styles in a single walk.

  • The Old England department store façade, now the Musical Instruments Museum (MIM), by architect Paul Saintenoy
  • La Pharmacie Anglaise by architect Paul Saintenoy
  • Mont des Arts
  • Galerie Ravenstein – glass brick dome

Brussels

October 29th, 2019

Back to Base

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Well, hellooo Brussels!… It’s been a while.

‘Twas a quick trip for work, but that didn’t mean there would be no time for play!

  • Parc de Bruxelles
  • Parc de Bruxelles
  • Parc de Bruxelles
  • The Sculpture Garden || Jardin des sculptures
  • Grand Sablon
  • Grand Sablon
  • The old and the new:
    On the right: Anneessens Tower, part of the first wall surrounding Brussels, built a the end of the 11th-beginning of the 12th century. The wall was 4km long and had seven gates and fifty guard towers. This tower stood at a corner of the ramparts and its actual name is Tour D’angle || Corner Tower. But it also stood close to the Steenpoort Gate, a prison for political offenders where François Anneessens, Dean of the guilds was imprisoned in 1719 (and was later behead in Grand Place). Hence the Tower is commonly referred to as the ”Anneessens Tower”.
    On the left and around it: generic modern buildings, one would not have looked at twice had it not been for the tower.
  • Place de la Vieille Halle aux Blés
  • St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral
  • St Michael and St Gudula Cathedral

Walking in Brussels

October 13th, 2019

The ”Not Quite Human” Contortionists, by Hayv Kahraman

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No sooner had we discovered Hayv Kahraman‘s distinctive figures in MASS MoCA earlier that month, than we came across them again, in Jack Shainman Gallery, Chelsea. I’m sure one could hold lengthy discussions about the artist’s technique and style, but it was the calmness – bordering on apathy – on the women’s faces while their bodies twisted and bent, assuming these impossible positions, that I found particularly attractive.

September 21st, 2019

Art that moves me no end

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Aleah Chapin @ Flowers || Richard Serra @ Gagosian

  • Aleah Chapin || Turning (Self-Portrait), 2019 || Oil on panel
  • Aleah Chapin ||Splitting the Silence, 2018 || Oil on canvas
  • Aleah Chapin || And it Caught Fire, 2019 || Oil on canvas
  • Aleah Chapin || We Held the Mountains on Our Shoulders, 2017 || Oil on canvas
  • Aleah Chapin || Deborah, 2019 || Oil on panel
  • Aleah Chapin || Our Voices are Still Singing on the Margins, 2019 || Oil on canvas
  • Aleah Chapin || Max, 2018 || Oil on linen
  • Richard Serra
  • Richard Serra || Combined and Separated, 2019 [detail]
  • Richard Serra || Nine, 2019
  • Richard Serra || Nine, 2019
  • Richard Serra || Inverted, 2019

Chelsea Gallery Walk

September 21st, 2019