Middle Gate

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    The exhibition project Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna is a collaboration between M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) and the cultural centre de Werft in Geel. Middle Gate II is the follow up to the exhibition Middle Gate, curated by Jan Hoet in Geel in 2013. The exhibition concept is closely tied to the legend of the holy Dymphna, saint of the possessed, the mentally ill and patroness against epilepsy and insanity. The legend of Dymphna shares a strong connection to the identity of Geel, "the charitable city".

    Luc Deleu

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    Courtesy Luc Deleu, image: (c) M HKA
    2 spiegels Skipper, 1973
    George Smits, Luc Deleu
    Installation , 60 x 50 cm
    2 mirrors

    For George Smits, the creation of prosaic artforms for a broader public, served ‘a greater purpose’ than the bourgeois artworld. The extreme integrity with which he pursued this goal is the connecting thread that runs through his diverse body of work. He was a fixture of Antwerp’s underground art scene, affiliated with the Ercola group, and preferred to describe himself as a beatnik.

    In 1973, Smits created several graphic wallpaper and mirror designs intended for the nautical themed cafe De Schipper in the centre of Antwerp, whose interior architecture was created by Luc Deleu. Smits designs are vivid and hallucinogenic, reflecting his alternative approach to life and work.

    In 1970, Smits designed posters and created a permanent light show with light installations and liquid projections for Thalamus, a café famed for its nightlife in Brussels that he frequented and occasionally worked in. Thalamus was also a favourite haunt of artist-poet Sophie Podolski, whose work Roberto Bolaño greatly admired.

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