On view:

December 1, 2013

KaBe Contemporary is pleased to present Click featuring the latest work of artist collective Arocha-Schraenen. Click explores a specific set of issues that are of special importance to the artists at the moment: memory, time, loss, family, and space. The exhibition deals with perception and deception, which challenge the viewer and provoke questions. In this instance, the work deals with basic human emotions that are relatable to virtually any person.

 

The sculpture pieces resemble furniture of a period that belongs to the collective memory of a certain generation. However, on closer view, one can determine that they are not functional pieces, as their drawers and doors are nonexistent. The sculptures become instead monolithic sculptures. The deceitful nature of the pieces triggers the basic human emotions that deal with melancholy as they point out the impossibility to either store or access what on would project upon them. They also defeat speculation and desire. One is invited to marvel at the piece but only as a whole. The only view into the inner workings of the sculpture is by peering in through a peeping hole that guides the viewer towards the outside once again.

 

The drawings at first glance appear as a continuous set of patterns. However, a closer look reveals that none of them are equal in neither color nor pattern. These pieces remind of family photographs where the members of the family are related and similar, not exactly the same. In their formal appearance they become impossible to memorize and this impossibility is equivalent to not being able to discern a group of people’s features in a photograph. The drawings also resemble the fabric samples that were used to cover spaces such as bas-reliefs, which were derived from photographs of existing corner in spaces. These works serve as remainders of other spaces that contain the potential experiences and memories of a viewer going through the show further accentuated by the other works in the show.

Carla Arocha was born in Caracas, Venezuela and currently works and lives in Antwerp, Belgium. Stéphane Schraenen is a Belgian artist born in Antwerp, city were he currently lives and works. The two artists went public as a collective in the year 2007 with exhibitions such as Reflecting Surface presented in The Agency Gallery in London, and FireWalk with Me in Mexico City, exhibition curated by Montserrat Albores.  Since 2007 they have been also showcased numerous times in the Brussels Biennial in 2008, Finnissage Presentation in Koraalberg Gallery, Antwerp, and The State of Things, curated by Ai Wei Wei and Luc Tuymans in the BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels, both in 2009.