I don’t want to sound like a fine art spectator entering contemporary exhibitions stating “what’s that? art? everybody can do that.”, and the like … BUT as a person who is following artistic practises, in all kinds of forms and around the world, for more than a decade, sometimes it is actually hard to keep calm and not freaking out when entering a high-end top gallery in Brussels seeing the solo show of a under 30 year old artists presenting, in this case, about 10 monochromatic large scale paintings in this great rooms. I enter - quite open-minded - and can’t other than ask myself really ??
Yes, of course I can find links to art history, to contemporary approaches, I can define it as daring and provocative, reflect upon technical experiments of the artist, I can talk to the art crowd which came for the opening and find interesting relations … yes, it makes one talk about it, and that’s maybe more moving than some other boring exhibitions which try to do something new or trendy. But woMan - we are talking about art pieces of young guys which are on the market for (ten)thousands of Euros, taking the spaces for works which are so much more interesting and contemporary.
But he might have achieved his aim making me feel weird and annoyed … and the dialogue with other artists whom I respect a lot makes me calm down a bit after seeing such presentations. They are not angry about such developments, they are more concerned about the pulverisation and exploitation of young artists. One artists points out the short-living of such practises of young artists, he asked me ,what do you think he gonna do in ten years?`…
(c) Carmen Subota
Yet, such an evening is completely saved if it ends with two very close friends and a lot of fun at a concert at Beursschouwburg - British-Nigerian producer Tony Njoku and before the Bombataz from Brussels … even though this could end up in another discussion about really?
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