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These Strangers… Painting and People at S.M.A.K.

Victor Man_Grafting or Lermontov dansant comme Saint-Sébastien_HR

Artists: Nicole Eisenman, Victor Man, Alice Neel, Paulina Olowska, Nicolas Party, Elizabeth Peyton, Avery Singer, Henry Taylor, Katharina Wulff

Exhibition title: These Strangers… Painting and People

Venue: S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium

Date: October 1, 2016 – January 8, 2017

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and S.M.A.K.

These Strangers… Painting and People presents the human figure in the Western painting of the last forty years. The exhibition is not a survey, but explores the oeuvres of nine artists who so far have had little or no work shown in Belgian museums. Each of these artists, who are of different generations, starts out from the tradition of the portrait and goes in great depth into viewing the model and into the look he or she returns. This results in portraits that are embedded in the personal, societal, political and cultural environment and the period in which the artists live and work.

The title of the exhibition is taken from These Strangers in a Foreign World, a poem by Emily Dickinson (1830 – 86), and accentuates the relationship with the Other:

These Strangers, in a Foreign World,
Protection asked of me –
Befriend them, lest Yourself in Heaven
Be found a Refugee –

In the course of art history, painting has evolved from the application of paint to a support as a subjective act into a complex and many-branched domain where the personal and the mass produced meet. Nowadays, painters combine handwork with industrial techniques and supplement pure imagination with images appropriated from the media and art.

The painted portrait has developed in a comparable way. It was originally intended to give a true-to-life portrayal of the subject, but it later played a crucial part in the rise of individualism and its expression. A traditional portrait shows a specific person whom the artist has actually met. It is a rendering of someone’s outward appearance, but it also says something about what the person is like and how the artist saw him or her. Portraits enable us to look at and get a sense of others, but our own ideas are reflected too. Portraits express something deep and fundamental that transcends the ordinary and momentary.

In the present network culture, where the self-image is moulded and shaped through the views of others, the internet and social media, portraits are not necessarily the result of real encounters. Artists now have unlimited access to the abundant archives of art history and the visual media on which they can draw and then, to their heart’s content, manipulate, recombine and set these images in new contexts. They no longer sketch the human figure as an individual, but as a metaphor for human existence in our complex globalised world. At the same time, they ask pertinent questions about such concepts as originality, identity, gender, subjectivity and consciousness (of the self).

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Eisenman01

Nicole Eisenman, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Eisenman02

Nicole Eisenman, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Eisenman03

Nicole Eisenman, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Nicole Eisenman_Bier Garten 2007

Nicole Eisenman, Biergarten, 2007, Collection of Joshua Gessel & Yoel Kremin, Marina – Herzliya; Courtesy the Artist and Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Photo : Jens Ziehe

Nicole Eisenman_Devil 2007

Nicole Eisenman, Devil, 2007, Private collection, Courtesy the Artist and Galerie, Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Photo : Jens Ziehe

Nicole Eisenman_Le Kiss Deux 2015

Nicole Eisenman, Le Kiss Deux, 2015, Private collection, Courtesy the Artist and Galerie , Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Photo : Jens Ziehe

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Mann01

Victor Man, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Mann02

Victor Man, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Victor Man_Self Portrait of Father's Death_2016

Victor Man, Self-Portrait at Father’s Death, 2016
Courtesy the Artist and Galeria Plan B, Berlin and Cluj

Victor Man_Grafting or Lermontov dansant comme Saint-Sébastien_HR

Victor Man, Grafting or Lermontov dansant comme Saint-Sébastien, 2014-2015, Courtesy The Artist and Galerie Neu, Berlin

Victor Man_K

Victor Man, K, 2014
Courtesy the Artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York and Brussels

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Neel01

Alice Neel, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Neel02

Alice Neel, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Alice Neel Ron Kajiwara 1971

Alice Neel, Ron Kajiwara, 1971
The Estate of Alice Neel and  Xavier Hufkens, Brussels

Alice Neel_Anne-Marie and Georgie 1982

Alice Neel, Anne-Marie and Georgie, 1982
FWA, Foundation for Women Artists, Antwerp-Belgium

Alice Neel_Richard in the Era of Corporation 1978_1979

Alice Neel, Richard in the Era of Corporation, 1978 – 1979
The Estate of Alice Neel, Image © Estate of Alice Neel

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Nicolas party01

Nicolas Party, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Nicolas party02

Nicolas Party, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Nicolas party03

Nicolas Party, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Nicolas party04

Nicolas Party, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Olowska01

Paulina Olowska, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Olowska02

Paulina Olowska, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Paulina Olowska_Girl in Portobello Road Market Offers for Sale Dresses She Has Made_2012

Paulina Olowska, Girl in Portobello Road Market Offers for Sale Dresses She Has Made, 2012, Andreas Hecker, Hong Kong; Courtesy the Artist and Simon Lee Gallery, London

Paulina Olowska_Granny_2012

Paulina Olowska, Granny, 2012,
Private collection, Courtesy the Artist and , Simon Lee Gallery, London

Paulina Olowska_Untitled (For Ulrike Ottinger)_2012

Paulina Olowska, Untitled (for Ulrike Ottinger), 2012
Graham Collection, UK; Courtesy the Artist and Simon Lee Gallery, London

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton01

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton04

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton05

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton06

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton07

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton08

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton09

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton10

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Peyton0103

Elizabeth Peyton, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Elizabeth Peyton_ Fred Hughes at Max's Kansas City 1995_HR

Elizabeth Peyton, Fred Hughes at Max’s Kansas City (after Billy Name), 1995, FWA, Foundation for Women Artists, Antwerp

Elizabeth Peyton_Flower Ben_2002

Elizabeth Peyton, Flower Ben (two), 2002, Boros Collection, Berlin

Elizabeth Peyton_Sara_1995

Elizabeth Peyton, Sara, 1995
Private Collection, Courtesy neugerriemschneider, Berlin

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer01

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer02

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer03

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer04

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer05

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Singer06

Avery Singer, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Avery Singer, Eleonore_2015

Avery Singer, Eleonore, 2015
Collection Oehmen Germany, Courtesy the Artist; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, Photo : Michael Underwood

Avery Singer, Lee Krasner_2014

Avery Singer, Lee Krasner, 2014
Privatsammlung Bonn, Courtesy the Artist; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, Photo : Jörg Lohse

Avery Singer, Untitled_2015

Avery Singer, Untitled, 2015
Collection Majerus Luxembourg, Courtesy the Artist; Kraupa-Tuskany Zeidler, Berlin; Gavin Brown’s Enterprise, New York, Photo : Michael Underwood

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Taylor01

Henry Taylor, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Taylor02

Henry Taylor, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Taylor04

Henry Taylor, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Henry Taylor, Danielle Dean, 2012

Henry Taylor, Danielle Dean, 2012,
Collection of Rosalie Benitez, Malibu, CA, Courtesy Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

Henry Taylor, Stephanie Gonzalez

Henry Taylor, Stephanie Gonzalez, 2012
Collection of Louise and Bill Paxton; Courtesy the Artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

Henry Taylor, Wardel's Homeboy

Henry Taylor, Wardel’s Homeboy, 2016
Private Collection, Belgium, Courtesy the Artist and Blum & Poe, Los Angeles

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Wulff01

Katharina Wulff, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Wulff02

Katharina Wulff, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Wulff03

Katharina Wulff, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Wulff04

Katharina Wulff, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

These Strangers_S.M.A.K._Dirk Pauwels_Wulff05

Katharina Wulff, installation view at S.M.A.K., 2016

Katharina Wulff_Untitled, 2011

Katharina Wulff, Untitled, 2011
Private Collection – Courtesy Tajan SA

Katharina-Wulff_Motorero_2010

Katharina Wulff, Motorero, 2010
Ken and Helen Rowe; Courtesy the Artist; Galerie Neu, Berlin and Greene Naftali, New York

Katharine Wulff, Untitled, 2006

Katharina Wulff, Untitled, 2006,
Private Collection, Cologne

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