Three times in black and white at Art Brussels

There is no shortage of colors at the fortieth edition of Art Brussels. Although pigment is certainly not always necessary to catch the eye at the contemporary art fair with work from 177 galleries from thirty countries. A look at three intriguing black and white creations.

We would rather not encounter them at night, the intimidating sculptures with which the Parisian gallery TEMPLON attracts attention. The ‘armors’ of the French artist Jeanne Vicerial (°1991) depict female warriors. The word is a contraction of ‘amour’ and ‘warriors’, with which Vicerial wants to emphasize both their fighting power and vulnerability.

The handmade dolls are woven from one meter-long thread and are detached from time and space. They might as well be aliens or medieval knights. With her timeless sculptures, Vicerial wants to raise questions about the position of women and the female body in society.

Her series of ‘armors’ – we see three at Art Brussels – often refer to religion or mythology and have also been exhibited in churches. Although they are no holier than the Pope, the subtle references to female genitals in the design also testify. She named a smaller work on her gallery stand ‘Sex Voto’ – a nod to an ex voto on an altar – and depicts a wearable vulva.

Vicerial has a background in fashion and costume design, and for her PhD she worked with 3D printing technology to make custom clothing from one recycled thread, without textiles. She is fascinated by black, the ‘color that is not a color’, and how it absorbs light.

The Vietnamese-born Bao Vuong (°1978) sets our gaze to infinity with ‘The Crossing 210’, an overwhelming experience of light, shadow and a glittering sea surface. The waves lap over the canvas and appear to move. There is melancholy and sadness, broken open by the hopeful silver linings on the horizon. There is always light at the end of the pitch-black tunnel, Vuong seems to illustrate.

The artist had to flee his native country due to the Vietnam War when he was barely one year old. The family spent months on a boat on the open sea, until they finally ended up in France and were granted asylum. Vuong brings these ‘buried memories’ back to life in his work. In 2015 he traveled back to Vietnam for the first time. Today he alternates between his native country, Belgium and France.

What is special about Vuong’s painting technique is the incorporation of materials such as ash, incense sticks and charcoal in acrylic and oil paint. In this way he creates different shades of black and adds sparkles and relief in an organic way. ‘The Crossing 210’ is one painting from an extensive series on the same theme. Vuong is under the wings of HdM Gallery, with headquarters in Beijing and an exhibition space in Paris.

From a distance, the fleshy, sensual photographs of Mexican artist Martín Soto Climent (°1977) appear to be detailed photographs of body parts. If you look closer, you will see that these are folded materials.

For this particular work, Climent experimented with foam film, the thin, mousse-like sheets used in packaging to avoid damaging products. Just like skin, they feel soft and pliable. The artist folds them into different shapes and photographs the poetic lines and wrinkles that arise, after which he places the photos in a harmonious composition.

‘Classic Climent’, according to his gallery Andréhn-Schiptjenko, located in Stockholm and Paris. Experimenting with materials and transforming them is his trademark. The works do not have a narrative, they are purely about creating a rhythmic composition by distorting substances. In another series, also on display at Art Brussels, he worked with deformed nylon stockings as a metaphor for the skin.