Artist: Tom Volkaert
Exhibition title: Souvenirs From Belgium
Venue: Catbox Contemporary, New York, US
Date: February 29 – April 16, 2020
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Catbox Contemporary, New York
It’s been harder to disguise the scars of past installations. Before you stands a carpeted dwelling at an interim stop after a three year cycle of continuous transmogrification. This cat’s domicile is becoming less and less itself every day; shifting shape from a theatre, to a sanctuary, to a display case. Now it is a body, looming over the apartment from its corner like a golem; except it is caught mid mutation. The tree has grown a head. Its eyes have sprouted stocks, which are used as crude tentacles to crawl to higher vantage points. From there they are watched while they observe, keeping close surveillance of the small offerings adorning the soft platforms below. These gifts are for the taking, familiar souvenirs from a strange visage.
Tom Volkaert (Antwerp, 1989) had solo exhibitions at Nevven Gallery (Sweden), Good Enough @ Atlanta Contemporary (Atlanta, GA ), Debora Bowmann Gallery (Bruxelles), Rod Barton Gallery (London, UK) and was included in group shows at Plus One Gallery (Antwerp, 2018), Podium Enterprises (Oslo, 2018) and Pina Vienna (Wien, 2017) among others. Tom Volkaert lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
