Closing Event#02: Rutger De Vries, And Many More, Verena Buttmann, Laat Maar

From the 18th of May 2017 till spring 2018, 019 will be closed. But closing time also means show time. Though closed, 019 is fulfilling its commitment—we are still functioning, and we are showing art. Many would argue that a closed exhibition venue is a waste of space, a waste of time and, for public institutions, a waste of public funds. Yet, what is it that is “closed” actually? The spaces? The infrastructure that encompasses human labour? Ultimately, these are works of art to be seen, experienced. Let us remind ourselves of the necessity of any institution to show the most radical art, even if to show implies to close.

RUTGER DE VRIES (NL)
The text above rephrases fragments from A Retrospective of Closed Exhibitions (1964-2016 by Mathieu Copeland). Rutger De Vries will be the second to close down 019 in the series, using big amounts of industrial wrappingfoil, he will wrap the entire building. 019 Closing Events is initiated by Ine Meganck. For the remaining months, several artists are invited to close 019. Come and see what a closed space looks like, and how it can become a space for artistic invention!

AND MANY MORE (BE)
Bottlenecks, Loops And Many More is the first offering by Belgian art collective And Many More, formed by Hans Demeulenaere, Karel Verhoeven and Klaas Vanhee.
Their collaboration is rooted in a shared interest in music—be it a direct or an indirect one—and in particular in the way in which this interest is translated into a personal visual approach. In this new collaboration the collective makes sculptural work that uses and questions music and its visual language.
The relationship between the three artists in the collective is based on the formation and the decision making process of a music band. All artistic decisions must be carried by the group, and individual choices may not be immediately obvious.
For Bottlenecks, Loops And Many More at 019, Demeulenaere, Verhoeven and Vanhee have created a first sculptural, visual and aural presentation. The installation is like a first handshake or acquaintance, much like the initial contact with a band’s new record is usually the album cover.

LAAT MAAR (BE)
(performance on the 23rd, 20h)

VERENA BUTTMANN (DE)
(performance on the 23rd, 20h)

I ask myself what I admire more: The beauty of the flowers or the ability of the camera to capture the colours so lifelike.
Verena Buttmann’s tool is her voice. She writes stories that come into her mind or have been told by someone else and interweaves them into a new—often fragmented—construction. By telling, reading or singing them she develops a narration that switches between different perspectives, persons and spaces and dissolves the line between fiction and non-fiction, autobiographical and foreign material.
During one month of this summer Verena Buttmann engages with the building of 019 and the information it contains. Her performance is the result of this engagement.