GALLERY GUY: A member of the famous Antwerp Six has taken up art-making: Dirk Van Saene has a show of new paintings and ceramic sculptures at the Gallery Sofie Van de Velde in the Flemish city, famed for its concentration of fashion designers.
The works are said to portray “different characters that embody a certain emotion, with a focus on tragic or dramatically charged feelings,” he said.
“As an artist, my work has no functionality: it shows the human body, not in a direct context, but rather as the notions of a human figure. At the same time, the emotions they depict are equally as important,” Van Saene said. “My sculptures are neither mannequins, nor statues. They are characters, dressed by me.”
A painting from Dirk Van Saene Courtesy of Gallery Sofie Van de Velde
Van Saene’s show, titled “Hope and Despair,” runs through Feb. 21.
Another Belgian designer often wrongly counted as a member of the Antwerp Six, Martin Margiela, will make his debut as an artist with an exhibition opening in April at Lafayette Anticipations in Paris, the art foundation backed by Groupe Galeries Lafayette, scheduled to open in April. It is to showcase feature previously unseen sculptures, photographs and installations.
The Antwerp Six includes Dries Van Noten, Ann Demeulemeester, Marina Yee, Walter Van Beirendonck and Dirk Bikkembergs — all alumni of the city’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts. They were considered fashion’s next radical wave in the late ’80s.
Demeulemeester hung up her scissors in 2013 and in 2019 turned her hand to ceramic dishes and other housewares under the Serax label.
See also:
Who Are The Antwerp Six
Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene Set Multi-brand Boutique
Raf Simons to Sell Ceramics
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