First 'Art au Centre' of the year and I decided to have a bit of a preview for just my sneaky self, sort of like a one-man press opening without the tid-bits... Thought I I stayed for the official launch I would get in quite late, but sort of hesitated because an evening in Liége would not have been amiss either... Anyway, I sort of knew some of the haunts from previous editions, and thought I could wing it without map or brochure... But these were in fact already available, so no problem whatsoever...
Often a mixed bag, but always something to interest one or the other enthusiast, the series has become a pleasant fixture to a visit to the city especially when combined with some other something else which I proceeded to do...
But first things first -decided to do a loop from the Place St Lambert to Place St Leonard and then see... Which put me into position to check out quite a few windows before deciding what to do next. Just behind the Palace a wink by Petra Herzog at double take reality... Painted (or film) blinds denoting that the place was closed, with two laminates just skew enough to surmise a peeping someone or slightly rough handling... Which is it to be -the viewer can choose... Next up empty showcases by Hadrien Loumaye: except for a wild modification of colour, "vide peint" perhaps a handle one might use... One gallery I was planning to visit was closed, so moseyed on towards a couple of other (Thiriry Hanse) vitrines before considering the turn in my loop... By now geared up to see unintentional art in various shop windows... Or rather "hors serie" interventions...
Well the rue Fernonstrée was one big construction site, which made progress slow and muddy as well as losing one"s barings slightly... Nearly passed by Carole Louis: playful eycandy, cablesalad and junkseed rasins for possible rodents to boot... Boot being the image provided between what otherwise seemed like a punk terrarium for three blind (drunk) mice") window because behind barriers, but per chance she was there herself taking photographs and so realized and got to "meet the artist" to boot... Good omen..
Headed back towards town and saw Vered Ben Kiki's work across the road behind barriers... It was nice to see how strong her presence is even from a distance and less than optimal circumstances... The windows and the set-up very nice, in fact quite a good location if it had not been for the roadworks.... And one could even consider this a "major show" in as much as it had been a long time since so many and such large works were displayed... Only sorry that she had to miss this upsurge in interest in her work... She would have enjoyed the display, surroundings, circumstances... Since even in this strange messy building-site it had presence... Including the reflections of the window panes in the museum quarter...
some takes (reflections permitting)
A certain surrealist quality, and I found myself taking more photographs of unintentional, Guillaume Bijl-style situations in the area, including the remnants of the gallery ( Brasseurs) we had another homage in just along the way and a number of empty stores... Who can keep up business with this mess in front of the door... But there were a number of AauC interventions along the (muddy) way, (one by ESA St. Luc, another 'mauvais graines' by Julie Gaubert) and I took the time to visit the new (well, most recent) show at the Brasseurs II, 'mezza porta' by Jacques Di Piazza, which was quite a bit better than I thought it would be, adding to the semi-unintentional confusion and trop d'oeil (trompe d"oeil) effect without being literal... The leaking bath leaving the illusion of black water behind it, the spent sulfuric racing tyres in the basement alluding to distance without being anywhere near a solid wall, fake walls and layers, excavation cores of super-thick paintings and replica roofing combined with existent attributes which this sumptuous space had furnished itself...
In the showcase a work by Indigo Deijmann surrounding a crush on an actor, a sort of exhaustive miniature museum and shrine... I didn't immediately find the next venues and decided I was going to leave it at that for the time being, intending on returning to continue the itinerary... It is in fact quite extensive and so perhaps best sectioned... And a good excuse to return for a second impression too...
( other recent trips to Liege were for less that happy occasions)
