We have become so used to looking at art from an analytical viewpoint – searching for the artist's philosophy, methodology, identity and intent – that we often forget, or deliberately neglect, the principal function of art. Before the modern era, art served primarily to decorate architecture and spaces in order to make life richer and more joyful. As Asad Raza, artistic director of Villa Empain in Brussels, reminds us, ‘Being pleasing to the eyes is a deeper matter than one sometimes thinks.’
Now, in a new exhibition at the villa, co-curated with Tino Sehgal and Dorothea von Hantelmann, "Decor" takes a look at the decorative function of modern and contemporary art and its part in simply being a beautiful component of an environment. An important part of art deco and the architectural heritage of Brussels, Villa Empain was originally designed by Swiss architecture master Michel Polak in 1934 and was acquired by the Lebanese-Armenian Boghossian Foundation, which in 2006 decided to turn it into an art platform.
Art deco refers to arts that are stitched into all different aspects of life. ‘My goal is to bring the art exhibition closer to life, for the villa to be seen more as an inhabited house than a container for objects. I want to do exhibitions that will really work with the building,' says Raza, 'The idea for this show, 'Decor', is that we go with works that don’t need to be the centre of attention, dominating all the meaning of the room – but at the same time are not afraid to decorate the space.’
Given that most of the artists today work on the contrary – to create works to be centre stage – the curators gave the exhibitors a chance to think and respond from a different perspective. Four artists have been commissioned to create new works for the show – Daniel Buren covered up windows on the back side of the villa with colourful squares; Pierre Huyghe is showing his narrated aquarium Cambrian Explosion 14; Waqas Khan’s wall mural installation and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Chambre (L’inhumaine) are sited on the first floor. On top of that, works from Carl Andre, Marcel Broodthaers, Latifa Echakhch, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Milena Muzquiz and Rosemarie Trockel have also been brought to the show.
‘These works hold the relationship between viewers and the villa; they bring you close to the villa as much as to the works themselves,’ Raza says.
Art deco refers to arts that are stitched into all different aspects of life. Pictured: installation view of Daniel Buren's colourful glass squares
Co-curated by Asad Raza, Tino Sehgal and Dorothea von Hantelmann, 'Decor' takes a look at the decorative function of modern and contemporary art and its part in simply being a beautiful component of an environment
Villa Empain was originally designed by Swiss architecture master Michel Polak in 1934 and was acquired by the Lebanese-Armenian Boghossian Foundation, which in 2006 decided to turn it into an art platform
Pierre Huyghe is showing his narrated aquarium Cambrian Explosion 14, while Waqas Khan’s wall mural installation and Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Chambre (L’inhumaine) are sited on the first floor
Works by Carl Andre, Marcel Broodthaers, Latifa Echakhch, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Milena Muzquiz and Rosemarie Trockel are also on show
INFORMATION
’Decor’ is on view until 29 January 2017. For more information, visit the Villa Empain website
ADDRESS
Villa Empain
Avenue Franklin Roosevelt 67
1000 Brussels
-
Arts institution Pivô breathes new life into neglected Lina Bo Bardi building in BahiaNon-profit cultural institution Pivô is reactivating a Lina Bo Bardi landmark in Salvador da Bahia in a bid to foster artistic dialogue and community engagement
-
Joy Gregory subverts beauty standards with her new exhibition at Whitechapel GalleryUnrealistic beauty standards hide ugly realities in 'Joy Gregory: Catching Flies with Honey '
-
Rachael Gowdridge reinvents a Victorian public toilet as boutique suites17 years after closing, a public loo on Oxford’s St Giles has reopened as a set of two richly decorated hotel suites
-
The cultural weight of girlhood is complex and beautiful at MoMuA new Antwerp exhibition, ‘Girls. On Boredom, Rebellion and Being In-Between’, frames girlhood as both archetype and subversion, featuring works by Sofia Coppola, Louise Bourgeois, and more
-
Artist Emmanuelle Castellan’s textural takeover in BrusselsLa Verrière gallery in Brussels and Fondation d’entreprise Hermès present ‘Spektrum’, infused with colour and texture by the works of Emmanuelle Castellan
-
The ageing female body and the cult of youth: Joan Semmel in BelgiumJoan Semmel’s ‘An Other View’ is currently on show at Xavier Hufkens, Belgium, reimagining the female nude
-
‘Heaven ’N’ Earth’: Sayre Gomez blurs the reality and illusion of Los AngelesSayre Gomez’s ‘Heaven ‘N‘ Earth’ at Xavier Hufkens in Brussels explores the contrasts between wealth and poverty, reality and illusion in Los Angeles
-
Antony Gormley interview: ‘We’re at more than a tipping point. We’re in a moment of utter crisis’We visit the London studio of British sculptor Antony Gormley ahead of his major new show ‘Body Field’ at Xavier Hufkens Brussels
-
Food, sexuality and domesticity: Anthea Hamilton reconsiders the familiar in AntwerpSubversive and playful, Anthea Hamilton’s first survey exhibition, ‘Mash Up’ has opened at the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp
-
Rachel Eulena Williams weaves poetry and abstraction in BrusselsIn ‘Joy & Rain’ at Xavier Hufkens, Brussels, New York-based artist Rachel Eulena Williams presents new hybrid works that are bold, subversive and steeped in complex histories
-
New Hope is Brussels’ treasure trove of 20th century designOlivier Dwek creates gallery New Hope, a treasure trove of 20th-century design in Brussels
