Argos Center for Art in Brussels Shows 'Being'

Written by Todd Thibeault Sunday, 02 January 2011 23:02

Brussels, Belgium - Argos Center for Art and Media presents the group exhibition "Being", In Brussels.  The exhibition begins with the premise that, if there is one thing that characterises Brussels it is the multi-cultural and international profile of the city.  This is also reflected in the increasing number of accomplished international artists who have chosen to make Brussels their place of residence and work.  The exhibition aims to bring together a selected number of these artists - which constitute a considerable cultural 'capital' for Brussels and Belgium - and to present their diverse practices in argos' new space.  On exhibition until 20 January 2007.

The exhibition - which is less of a group show and more a set of individual presentations - aims to bring together these creative capacities in order to generate a physical and mental inter-national discursive space and to engender a collective discussion about what it means to live and work in Brussels.  Rather than articulating some overarching, thematic curatorial agenda, the exhibition is conceived of in a loose and open-ended manner and intends to highlight the practices of these artists rather than imposing some forced dialogue between the works.  What is of interest here is exploring the possibilities that may arise from what is, ultimately, a series of chance encounters.  The exhibition is thus based on these chance encounters (for which Brussels is the backdrop) rather than a set of fixed or predetermined positions.  Being, in Brussels aims to privilege informal discussion, process and unexpected relationships rather than some forced thematic.  The exhibition does not aim to foster some artificial sense of a 'scene' but rather to instigate a discussion around what is, in effect, a shared space in the wider sense of the term, i.e. the city of Brussels.  Thirteen established and emerging artists from eleven countries present work in all media.

Among the participating artists are: Pierre Bismuth (France), Jota Castro (Peru), Peter Downsbrough (USA), Dora Garcia (Spain), Kendell Geers (South Africa), Agnes Geoffray (France), Aglaia Konrad (Austria), Shelbatra Jashari (Kosovo), Gabriel Lester (Netherlands), Jimmy Robert (Guadeloupe), Beat Streuli (Switzerland) and others.

The exhibition is curated by Katerina Gregos, the new artistic director of argos. A book will be published on the occasion of the exhibition.  This will not be an exhibition catalogue, in the traditional sense, but more of a compendium of international artists living in Brussels and a space which can be seen as a kind of printed extension of the exhibition, but also something independent of it.  The book will be a compendium of the international artists living in Brussels and will aim to capture the essence of Brussels – a city with an ambiguous and elusive image – as seen through the unique perspective of the artists.  It is conceived as a series of texts, interviews and images made or selected for the book by the artists.  A series of talks, performances, screenings and musical events is also being planned to coincide with the show. 

Visit Argos Center for Art and Media at : www.argosarts.org/