Artist: Nel Aerts
Exhibition title: Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby
Venue: Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens, Greece
Date: October 9 – December 5, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Eleni Koroneou Gallery is pleased to present the first solo show of the Belgian artist Nel Aerts, tilted Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby. The title of the show derives from the inner turmoil that finds its way through artistic creation and at the same time is a playful connotation to the inner turmoil that most of us have been experiencing during these unprecedented times.
The show is comprised of larger and smaller paintings on wooden panels and collages, combined with some earlier works that Aerts has revisited and reworked.
Tragic characters alternate with fallen angels and snake charmers expressing their emotions and sometimes confronting the viewer by looking him/her directly in the eye. A frighten figure is doing a split on stage while another figure (aka the Bar Hopper) is sitting on a flying carpet drinking wine and smoking. All these could be seen as Aerts’ alter ego’s in a dreamy world that might appear poetic and innocent, but is simultaneously absurd and grotesque.
Working on wooden panels, scratchings and cutouts become very important elements in the surface of her paintings. Aerts is fascinated by the idea of trial and error, little flaws and the thin line where a small addition can change the course or intended route of the work with the possible outcome of failure and not success.
Along with the paintings and the collages, six seating objects fill the gallery space. Those stools are custom-made and completely functional for the viewer to sit on them. In addition, a chain connects each one of these stools to a clipboard with a unique drawing, made with the use of a pyrography machine. The viewer is invited to tear off a piece of paper and make a rubbing of the burned out drawing.
Nel Aerts (1987, Turnhout, BE) is working in different media as painting, drawing, collage, sculpture, film and performance. In 2019, she had her first institutional shows in Germany at the Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster and at the Kunsthalle Lingen, as well as Museum M, Leuven in Belgium. Previously she had solo and duo exhibitions at Plus-One Gallery, Antwerp; Kunsthalle Charlottenborg, Copenhagen; Carl Freedman Gallery, London and Margate; Galleri SPECTA, Copenhagen; Horizont Gallery, Budapest; and KIOSK, Ghent. Her work was also shown in group exhibitions such as In Vitro, MuHKA Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp; Europe, Europe (curated by Hans Ulrich Obrist, Thomas Boutoux and Gunnar B. Kvaran) at Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; Season of the Which (curated by Marie de Gaulejac) at Castillo/Corrales, Paris; Salon der Angst (curated by Nicolaus Schafhausen & Cathérine Hug) at Kunsthalle, Vienna; Un-Scene II (curated by Elena Filipovic & Anne-Claire Schmitz) at WIELS, Brussels; De Vierkantigste Rechthoek (curated by Tom Barman) at Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort; MOTinternational, Brussels; Gladstone Gallery, Brussels; and Kunsthalle Charlottenborg, Copenhagen.
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby, 2020, exhibition view, Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens
Nel Aerts, Farewell Old Champ, 2015 – 2019, Acrylic, filler and coloured pencil on wood, in artist-made frame, 125 x 97 cm
Nel Aerts, Splits (Stage Fright), 2015 – 2020, Paper, acrylic, spray paint, pastel, ballpoint pen, glitter and coloured pencil on wood In artist-made frame, 45,5 x 33 cm
Nel Aerts, Dubious Conversations, 2019, Acrylic and graphite on wood, 84,5 x 55 cm
Nel Aerts, Trauma Trucker, 2012 – 2020, Lacquer, oil, sequins and spray paint on, wood 32.5 x 33.5 cm
Nel Aerts, Downhill (Again), 2020, Collage on acrylic painted wood in artist made frame, 66 x 54,5 cm
Nel Aerts, The Snake Charmer ’s Never Ending, After Party, 2020, Oil stick, oil pastel and sequins on paper on wood in artist-made frame, 63 x 53 cm
Nel Aerts, The Invisible One Sees It All, 2020, Acrylic and paper on wood, 62,5 x 53 cm
Nel Aerts, Turmoil Mind Fucker, 2020, Acrylic, oil stick, pastel, varnish and paper on canvas in artist-made frame, 144 x 124 cm
Nel Aerts, Delirium Portrait, 2020, Acrylic, pastel, spray paint, coloured pencil, sequins, varnish on wood, 71 x 57,5 cm
Nel Aerts, The Last Wanderer On Earth, 2020, Pastel and oil stick on paper on wood in artist- made frame, 104 x 74,5 cm
Nel Aerts, Playing House (Nel ’11), 2010- 2020, Acrylic, ecoline, filler on wood, 45 x 36,5 cm
Nel Aerts, Drama Wave, 2020, Acrylic, oil stick, filler and ecoline on wood, 78,5 x 76 cm
Nel Aerts, Vrees [Awe], 2020, Acrylic and oil stick on wood in artist made frame, 40,7 x 27 cm
Nel Aerts, The Calm Before The Storm, 2020, Collage with oil stick and acrylic in artist made frame, 48,5 x 50,5 cm
Nel Aerts, The Bar Hopper And Her Magic Carpet, 2015 – 2020, Acrylic, filler and oil sticks on wood in artist-made frame, 126 x 98,5 cm
Nel Aerts, The Dust Settles, 2020, Collage on acrylic and oil painted wood, 36 x 45 cm
Nel Aerts, Esoteric Eyeballer, 2020, Acrylic, oil sticks and spray paint on wood in artist-made frame, 77,5 x 72,5 cm
Nel Aerts, Bums Up, 2013-2020, Watercolor, coloured pencil, oil stick, oil pastel on paper on wood, 45 x 36 cm
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby (rubbing stool), 2020, Solid oak, foam, textile, chain, clipping board with pyrography, 66 x 49 x 50 (h) cm
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby (rubbing stool), 2020, Solid oak, foam, textile, chain, clipping board with pyrography, 63 x 45 x 50 (h) cm
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby (rubbing stool), 2020, Solid oak, foam, textile, chain, clipping board with pyrography, 57 x 34 x 50 (h) cm
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby (rubbing stool), 2020, Solid oak, foam, textile, chain, clipping board with pyrography, 65,5 x 43,5 x 50 (h) cm
Nel Aerts, Inner Wavy Turmoil Baby (rubbing stool), 2020, Solid oak, foam, textile, chain, clipping board with pyrography, 53 x 33 x 50 (h) cm
