Dennis Tyfus at 1646

Artist: Dennis Tyfus

Exhibition title: Enfant Terrine

Venue: 1646, The Hague, The Netherlands

Date: September 16 – October 22, 2017

Photography: N. Feragnoli, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and 1646, The Hague

On 16 September 1646 opened the new season with the solo exhibition of the Antwerp based artist Dennis Tyfus.

Dennis Tyfus (Antwerp, 1979) will take over 1646, installing ‘De Nor’ (the joint) in its place: one of the legendary spaces that Dennis Tyfus runs and has run himself, a place where many of his activities come together, where music is made, paintings and drawings are shown and people dance. De Nor is a travelling bar, visiting several cities starting in The Hague, before it will be permanently installed in Middelheim next year.

We have been intrigued by and following the work of Dennis Tyfus and the activities of his label Ultra Eczema for about 10 years now. Tyfus is known for an oeuvre that is difficult to categorize. It grows out of the things he finds important and results in a practice that is unceasing. Ranging from drawings, paintings, collages, poems, installations, videos, performances to magazines, flyers, posters and books (published & distributed under his own label Ultra Eczema) to music, vinyl record productions and radio shows on air at Radio Centraal.

Tyfus is simultaneously an outcast and a unifying factor in the Antwerp art scene. He uses the record label as a vehicle for all sorts of collaborations with a range of artists and musicians, which causes uncertainty when it comes to position his work for both the art world professionals as for the wider audience. His work that might rather be described as a form of being than as separate artworks often hovers in the grey area between arts, city life and popular culture. Because of this unpredictability of the ‘place’ of his works, they have an even stronger impact on us.

With the realisation of ‘De Nor’ Dennis Tyfus will again play with the expectations and the unwritten rules of the exhibition space and its visitors, as this bar will take over the space and Tyfus confronts his audience with this non-stop dance performance slash noise concert, a recorder (flute) installation and drawings and sculpture exhibition. This very first edition of ‘De Nor’ will be an improvised gathering of all the activities that Dennis Tyfus is involved in at the moment.
On 21 October during Museum Night in The Hague the artist will offer an evening of No Choice Tattoos in De Nor: The only choice is the size of the tattoo and place or body part: a permanent surprise!

Dennis Tyfus lives and works in Antwerp. Next to his activities for his label Ultra Eczema he has had solo exhibitions in a.o. MuHKA, Antwerp, Pinkie Bowtie, Antwerp, NICC, Brussels, Kunsthalle Sao Paulo, Brazil, Bourse, Brussels, Gallery SLOWBOY, Düsseldorf, Trampoline Gallery (with Vaast Colson), Antwerp, Stella Lohaus Gallery, Antwerp and he has participated in group exhibitions in a.o. S.M.A.K. Gent, Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, Bozar, Brussels, Kerry Schuss Art, New York en Museo di Villa Rufolo, Ravello (Italy).