WIM DELVOYE

The Belgian artist Wim Delvoye (b. 1965) is known for his ironic and innovative way of dealing with cultural themes. His art is often characterized by fanatical decoration and altering the original functions of objects. The exhibition presents Delvoye´s works from the 1990´s and his latest works specially made for this exhibition tour. The exhibition is produced in collaboration with the museum kunst palast of Düsseldorf and the Musée d´Art Contemporain of Lyon.

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WIM DELVOYE
Pori Art Museum 8.6. – 4.9.2002

Pori Art Museum presents Wim Delvoye, one of Belgium’s best-known contemporary artists, in a major solo exhibition. The exhibition presents a retrospective of Delvoye’s work from the 1990s onwards, as well as his most recent works created for the exhibition. Wim Delvoye is known for his works in which he combines objects and images that are alien and seemingly unrelated. Delvoye combines historically revered styles (Gothic, Baroque) with everyday objects (butane gas cylinder, concrete mixer, shovel) in works that, in new combinations, transform the meaning and function of the original materials. Delvoye’s works are characterised by rich ornamentation and exuberant ornamentation. The works make extensive use of traditional craft techniques such as woodcarving, mosaic decoration, decorative needlework, stained glass and tattooing. However, the decorative nature of Delvoye’s works bears a paradoxical stamp of craftsmanship: as an artist, Delvoye does not decorate his works himself, but uses craftsmen to create them. Delvoye’s art goes beyond the surface, in both the concrete and the metaphorical sense of the word. By juxtaposing opposites, Delvoye seeks to reveal the relationships and tensions between form and surface, content and appearance.

Delvoye’s art goes beyond the surface, both in the concrete and metaphorical sense of the word. By juxtaposing opposites, Delvoye seeks to reveal the relationships and tensions between form and surface, content and appearance. Delvoye is interested in cultural symbols and the codes, stereotypes and meanings they contain, which influence our cultural identity and collective memory. The exhibition also features Delvoye’s latest monumental work, a Chapel of 12 glass windows, which depicts the annual cycle according to the twelve months of the year. Chapel brings together a myriad of cultural iconography. In the work, a sacrally charged working technique – a decorated leaded glass window – is interspersed with medically coloured decorative patterns of mating humans, skulls and intestines in X-ray images. Stained glass windows were typically used in the Middle Ages to convey biblical messages. Delvoye’s highly communicative work straddles the line between provocation and lyrical eloquence.

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Wim Delvoye on syntynyt 1965 Wervikissä, Belgiassa. Delvoye on osallistunut lukuisiin kansainvälisiin näyttelyihin mm. Kasselin Dokumentaan 1992 sekä Venetsian Biennaleen vuosina 1990 ja 1999. Delvoyen teoksia nähtiin Porissa edellisen kerran osana Porin taidemuseon näyttelyä Ruralia: Maaseudun taide kesällä 1999. Wim Delvoyen näyttely on toteutettu yhteistyössä Düsseldorfin museum kunst palastin ja Lyonin nykytaiteen museon kanssa. Näyttelyyn liittyy Delvoyen tuotantoa esittelevä runsaasti kuvitettu julkaisu. ___________________________________________________________________________

Näyttely on avoinna tiistaista sunnuntaihin klo 11-18, keskiviikkoisin klo 11-20. Näyttelyiden ilmaiset yleisöopastukset keskiviikkoisin klo 18. Ilmainen sisäänpääsy keskiviikkoisin klo 18-20. Kahvila ja museokauppa palvelevat näyttelyiden avoinnaoloaikoina. Tiedustelut; ryhmäopastusten varaukset; kirjatilaukset puh. 02-621 1080, 621 1081, fax 02-621 1091.

Publication:

ISBN 951-9355-71-5
Wim Delvoye: Skatalog
Pori Art Museum 8.6.-1.9.2002
Appendix to the exhibition catalogue
Publications of Pori Art Museum 53