[Exhibition Project] Rik Wouters & the Private Utopia

This exhibition brings together work by Rik Wouters from the KMSKA collection and pieces by contemporary artists and fashion designers. In our region, Wouters was the only artist to combine Post-Impressionist painting techniques with simple domestic scenes. His expressive brush strokes and the unfinished style of his canvases give a dynamic to his work that, combined with the emphasis on lighting and colour, result in an enchanting and optimistic quality. Wouters had his fair share of difficulties in life, yet the harmonious ‘good life’ takes centre stage in his work. His love for his wife Nel was a motivating force in his work and her lust for life and energy inspired him to create many well-known paintings and sculptures.
Utopian Quest

The notion of shelter and sanctity is today reflected in both conceptual art and applied design (fashion, interior, design). These worlds overlap in a utopian quest for the essence of ‘the good life’ – or simply put: what does a person need to be happy? This search is expressed in a predilection for self-reliance and in the combination of pure materials with traditional techniques.

Various Belgian fashion designers — including Dirk Van Saene, Bruno Pieters, Christian Wijnants, Walter Van Beirendonck, Ann Demeulemeester, Dries Van Noten, Veronique Branquinho, Martin Margiela, Marina Yee and Jan-Jan Van Essche — give their individual interpretations to these thoughts: some by choosing specific fabrics and techniques, and others through their idiosyncratic position in fashion, in which they do not give praise to the hectic pace of the fashion world.