Middle Gate

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".

Ricardo Brey

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Untitled, Documenta IX, 1992

Ricardo Brey

Mixed Media , size of the room

Repositioned for the first time since 1992 for Ricardo Brey: Fuel to the Fire, M HKA 2015.

Following an invitation in 1991 to take part in the Documenta IX in Kassel, Ricardo Brey moved to Ghent. This change of location will have a strong influence on his later work.

Brey has reactivated the installation Untitled, which he made in Kassel 23 years ago, for the exhibition Ricardo Brey Fuel to the fire. By doing this the exhibition departs from a historical reference to the work of the artist.

"Brey's work was absolutely stunning. His material was old Venetian blinds, mattresses, panes of glass and two chicken feet. An old electric fan. It was not theatrical, and it was not like painting that one entered into. It was simple and extremely complex.

Recurringly, he uses sepia tones to denote our fascination with aged records. In this piece, not only the cotton cloth and matresses, but also the walls were tinted with a disturbin organic brown. Was it drid blood? No, he shook up bottles of Coca Cola and used them as spray paint. Cuba Libre. Like most of his work, the piece did not make sense; that is, there was not a clear narrative. No text was illustrated."

(source: Durham, Jimmie. Qué le Importa al Tigre una Raya Más: The Futility of Good Intentions. 2014, p. 30)

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