WANNES LECOMPTE & KEN'ICHIRO TANIGUCHI 

tiptoe

16.05 - 15.06.2024

Eva Steynen Gallery opened the duo exhibition 'tiptoe' by Wannes Lecompte (°1979, B) and Ken'ichoro Taniguchi (°1976, JP) during the Antwerp Art Weekend. Both Lecompte, as a painter, and Taniguchi, as a sculptor, have developed a very personal visual language, that show a lot of similarities in their concept of lightness, rhythm and form. Two artists who approach the world with a certain thoughtful slowness. They reflect on things that others take for granted.

 
WANNES LECOMPTE, works and lives in Brussels, celebrates the essence of painting itself. His new series of 'Symphonic Poems' are playful compositions of form, colour and texture. By convoking and provoking chance, Lecompte waits, in a voluntary slow process, until abstract figurations of colour present themselves, surrounded by the emptiness of the canvas. 

Wannes Lecompte studied at Sint Lucas Antwerp and the Kunsthochschule Weissensee in Berlin. In his practice, he seeks the essence of painting, continually questioning things that we often take for granted. Careful observation and chance play a significant role in his practice, in which abstract forms, rhythms and compositions slowly reveal themselves to him. In this line of thought, a painting is a conscious entity that expresses its desire to be a painting. It is then the artist's task to make this visible to the world. In the Belgian art magazine OKV, the artist noted: “I am inspired by the structure of the (canvas) weave. It is important not to trust your own eyes blindly. I emphasise the marks on the canvas and then create the painting, based on the principles of painting (the binding, the layering, the thickness of the paint, et cetera). The beginning of a painting is actually of secondary importance; it is what happens with that setup that matters. I spend a lot of time applying intermediate layers, layers that are required in order to create more interesting things. I also never forget that I am a viewer myself.” (Flor Linckens)

In this duo show 'tiptoe' Lecompte presents his latest oil paintings, which he calls symphonic poems. His works can, in a way, be compared to the intuitive creation of music, and the artist regularly performs musical performances, including at S.M.A.K. and BOZAR.

In an interactive performance during the opening and the Borger Nocturne , Wannes Lecompte has created his new edition, 'kiesvormen', based on the templates he used for his paintings. 

KEN'ICHIRO TANIGUCHI, working and living in Berlin and Sapporo, presents a new series of his light and poppy 'hecomi' sculptures. These yellow so-called 'hecomi’ are based on found cracks fissures, and damage created by nature on roads, walls, and other man-made surfaces in the Antwerp urban space. The larger ‘city-scape’ is based on the Antwerp city map. These transformations, through craftsmanship, represent the attempt to change the negative being of the Japanese verb 'heko-mu' to something light, pop, and positive.

Taniguchi is artist in residence, doing fieldwork for the future Antwerp Hecomi Map. Mapping Antwerp in it's unique way: focusing on the Brialmont forts. 

Ken'ichiro Taniguchi studied Fine Arts at Hokkaido University and currently divides his time between Berlin and Sapporo. His practice is characterised by Hecomi, a Japanese term used to describe a dent, depression, or crack in a surface. It is often used to refer to damage to a car, but the term can be more broadly applied to any surface that is dented or deformed. Taniguchi is fascinated by these cracks and fissures (or negative spaces) in the urban landscape, often caused by nature. This damage is frequently viewed as negative, but the artist seeks ways to transform it into something light, movable and positive.

For his three-dimensional and foldable works, Taniguchi uses hard, hand-cut PVC in a distinctive yellow colour, connecting the elements with materials such as brass, wood, steel and hinges. The resulting counterpart to the negative space that inspired the work appears surprisingly organic, resembling a coral-like life form. Simultaneously, the seemingly weightless works evoke the appearance of cut-out paper. In the 'hecomi fitting' the artist places these negative forms back into their original context (the original crack), which has a particularly satisfying effect.

The names of his works often reference the locations that inspired the specific pieces.

His work has been included in the collections of Fondation Maeght, the DKV Foundation, and Museum Rotterdam, among others. 

Image exhibition view

Wannes Lecompte, Symfonie in 5 delen #3, oil on canvas, 80 x 100 cm
Ken'ichiro Taniguchi, City Study for Antwerp, Belgium #1 & 2, 2024, compressed PVC, brass, steel, acrylic plate

exhibition views

 

works

 

Article GalleryViewer 24 may 2024, Flor Linckens (NL/ENG)