In Coup de Théâtre. A Play of Clay, Abby explores the theatrical potential of ceramics. The exhibition starts from Abby’s rich ceramic collection—one of the most important in Flanders—and brings historical objects into dialogue with contemporary art and design.
Ceramics appear here as a medium of imagination, role-playing and mise-en-scène. Figures, objects and sets behave like actors on a stage, showing how ceramics have been used for centuries to represent identity, power, beauty and everyday life.
The exhibition is structured into three ‘acts’:
Act I – Role-playing: about characters, social types and figuration
Act II – Show & Display: about showpieces, presentation and cultural imagery
Act III – All the World’s a Stage: on nature, illusion and the interplay between reality and imagination
Together, these three parts form a parcours in which ceramics emerge as a theatre of the world in miniature.
The exhibition combines a selection of around ninety historical objects from the Abby collection with work by contemporary artists, including:
Uģis Albiņš, Nick Cave, William Cobbing, Ilke Cop, Eric Croes, Lou Cruard, Maen Florin, Bart Gielen, Daan Gielis, Béatrice Guilleman, Helena Hafemann, Jessica Harrison, Kato Herbots, Beate Höing, Eléonore Joulin, Mirthe Klück, Joke Raes, Augustas Serapinas, Wieki Somers, Roeland Tweelinckx, Sharon Van Overmeiren, Jonas Vansteenkiste, Goedel Vermandere and Anne Wenzel, complemented by works by Athos Burez and Gustave de Jonghe from Abby’s collection.
In addition, in cooperation with Designregio Kortrijk,Abby will also present new work by young international designers inspired by the region’s ceramic tradition.
