GALERIE GRETA MEERT KOEN VAN DEN BROEK YAW Greta Meert Gallery presents the second solo exhibition by Koen van den Broek. The Yaw series constitutes the second part of a trilogy of exhibitions by the artist. Chicane opened in London in November 2012. The third and final part, 'Apex' will be shown in New York. Each title in this series of exhibitions contains a reference to our perception of the urban landscape. The term 'Yaw' refers to the imprint mark (a residue, an unevenness) a vehicle leaves when it gets stuck rotating its wheel on a soft surface. A human intervention as a demarcation point of our environment and observation, 'Yaw' is added to van den Broek's lexicon of borders, cracks and shadows of urban and architectural elements.
The notion of space present in van den Broek's work closely approaches Georges Perec's description in his Espèces d espaces ('Species of Spaces'): When nothing arrests our gaze, it carries a very long way. But if it meets with nothing, it sees nothing, it sees only what it meets. Space is what arrests our gaze, what our sight stumbles over: the obstacle, bricks, an angle, a vanishing point. Each of van den Broek's works is the result of a succession of transformations. The paintings are based on the snapshots the artist takes on his well-documented travels through the American hinterland. The reworking on the canvas is a continuous questioning of the endless possibilities of representation. The earlier 'Chicane' and the present 'Yaw' constitute a further development in this process. The synthetic structure of 'Torque #4' is illustrative. With van den Broek's previous work in mind, we can to some degree recognize the elements mentioned above, but their placement in strict superposition mainly emphasizes their pictorial qualities. The original form is virtually ignored, and the world outside the canvas is less and less evident. Along the vertical axis an abstract, autonomous composition is elaborated. Torque #4 is situated somewhere between Perec's description and a Greenbergian exploration of the picture plane. Finally, a comprehensive understanding of this series implies mentioning the artist's recent visit to the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver and the Denver Art Museum where Robert Motherwell s monumental Open Window series has been shown, inspired by Henri Matisse's painting Portefenêtre à Collioure. Modern American painting of the 1950s and 1960s resonates in van den Broek's work, or, in the striking words of David Anfam (curator of the Clyfford Still Museum, Denver): "An Old World s aesthete s sensibility fixed upon a modern American scene" Galerie Greta Meert Brussels Koen van den Broek Yaw 20/04-06/07 - Opening Friday 19th of April from 6 to 10pm Art Brussels 18-21 April 2013 Koen van den Broek 'APEX' 25/04-24/05/201, Friedman Benda Gallery New York
KOEN VAN DEN BROEK b. 1973 Lives and works in Schilde, Belgium Biography 1991-1993 Ir. Architect (bachelor), K.U. Leuven 1993-1995 Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp 1995-1997 Academy of Visual Arts St. Joost, Breda, The Netherlands 1997-2000 Higher Institute of Fine Arts Flanders (H.I.S.K Flanders), Antwerp 2013 Opening Atelier in Merksem,Belgium Solo Shows 2013 Koen van den Broek, April 19 June 29, Gallery Greta Meert, Brussels (forthcoming) Koen van den Broek, April 24 May 25, Friedman Benda, New York (forthcoming) 2012 Chicane, Marlborough Contemporary, London Shadows, Museo Alto Garda Arco, Palazzo dei Panni, Italy Koen van den Broek, From The East To The West And Back, Gallery Baton, Korea 2011 Koen van den Broek, Insomnia And The Greenhouse, Friedman Benda Gallery, New York Koen van den Broek, Comin Down, Figge von Rosen Gallery, Berlin
2010 WHAT?, Greta Meert Gallery, Brussels JOURNEY, Figge von Rosen Gallery, Cologne Curbs & Cracks, S.M.A.K., Ghent Preview, Works on Paper by Koen van den Broek, Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp 2009 Koen van den Broek, Shadows of time Black Polyurethane on inox, MDD, Deurle 2008 THIS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, Collaboration with John Baldessari, Greta Meert Gallery, Brussels THIS AN EXAMPLE OF THAT, Collaboration with John Baldessari, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht Out of Space Figge von Rosen, Cologne Who will lead us? artbrussels, (winner of the illy Prize), Brussels 2007 Angle, Inside the White Cube, London 2006 Dante s View, Figge von Rosen Gallery, Cologne Project St Lucas Ghent, Vlaamse Bouwmeester, Ghent 2005 Paintings from the USA and Japan, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle 2004 Koen van den Broek, 1999 2004, DA2 Salamanca 2003 Threshold, White Cube, London 2002 Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs, Gordes 2001 Borders, White Cube, London Koen van den Broek: Paintings, Z33, Hasselt 2000 Cultureel Centrum Hasselt 1999 Galerij Art 61, Hever
1998 Bernarduscentrum, Antwerp 1997 Galerie Hellinga Beetsterzwaag, Amsterdam Group Shows 2012 Belgium Contemporary Now (with Koen van den Broek, Patrick Vanden Eynde, Stef Driesen, Guy Van bossche, Cindy Wright), Gallery Baton, Seoul, Korea Biënnale van de Schilderkunst: De mens in beeld, Roger Raveel Museum, Zulte-Machelen 2011 JAN VAN IMSHOOT, KOEN VAN DEN BROEK, WILFRIED VANDENHOVE, Brandstrup Gallery, Oslo COLLECTIE XXII Ten oosten van 4 24, MuHKA, Antwerp Extra Muros: Meesterwerken in het Mas, MAS, Antwerp Tomorrow Is The Question Collectiepresentatie, SMAK, Gent 2010 14th Vilnius Painting Triennial: False Recognition, CAC, Vilnius (Lithuania) Does city/münster matter?, AZK Münster, Germany 2009 A Story of the Image, Shanghai Museum, China (collaboration MUHKA Antwerp Fading, Museum Elsene, Brussels) 2008 Fantasy, curated by Koen van den Broek, MuHKA, Antwerp Acadmia, chapelle d école des Beaux- Arts, Paris Biënnale van de Schilderkunst, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle - Raveelmuseum, Machelen Take the doll, Aardenburg The hands of Art, SMAK, Ghent
2007 The Floor, Zwarte Panter, Antwerp Vanaf Nu!.., LLS387, Antwerp Metamorphosis III, LAC Perpignan Metamorphosis III, Museu Municipal Abello, Berenguer (Barcelona) Welcome Home,MuHKA, Antwerp Jubilee, MuKHA, Antwerp 2006 Open Space, Art Fair Cologne Beaufort 2006, Ostend Freestate, Ostend Leere X vision, Marta Herford Between a Rock and a Hard Place, Kenny Schachter Rove, London Leeftijdgenoten, Raveelmuseum, Machelen 2005 Royal Academy Illustrated 2005, London Prague Biennale 2 p k m gallery: scape-code: their subjective topographies, Seoul 2004 Direct Painting, Kunsthalle Mannheim Karel Appel, Onderweg. reis van Rudi Fuchs langs de kunst de lage landen, Bozar (Paleis voor Schone Kunsten), Brussels This not a home, this is a house, Observatoire, Brussels Framed, CC Strombeek Koen van den Broek - Wim Catrysse, Strombeek 2003 Once Upon a Time: Een blik op de kunst in de jaren 90 in België, MuHKA, Antwerp Matisse and Beyond: A Century of Modernism, SFMOMA, San Francisco Oorsprong, Brakke Grond, Amsterdam The Ambiguity of the Image. Belgium Art Now, Art Athina Helexpo Exhibition Centre, Athens 2002 Wim Catrysse, Koen van den Broek, Leen Voet, Galerie James Van Damme, Brussels 2000 Prix de la Jeu Peinture Belge, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels Europa Prijs, Museum voor schone kunsten, Ostend The New Millenium in my Dreams, Seoul Biennale Prizegiving and Exhibition of Visual Art, Golfo de La Spezia, La Spezia 13 Presentatie van werk van de laureaten 2000 H.I.S.K., Gent Open Ateliers H.I.S.K., Flanders, Antwerp 1999 Subjectieve verbeelding, Huis Thuysbaert, Lokeren Open Ateliers H.I.S.K., Vlaanderen, Antwerp Group Exhibition: Synestesia, Gallery Lokaal 01, Antwerp
1998 FAXX, Tilburg Open Ateliers H.I.S.K., Vlaanderen, Antwerp Group Exhibition: Spring 98, Antwerp Open Ateliers H.I.S.K., Vlaanderen, Antwerp 1997 Koen van den Broek and Philip Morris, Bergen op Zoom Gallery Nieuw Brabantse Kunststichting, Breda Public Projects 2011 AZ Sint-Maarten, Mechelen Wielingen Square, Knokke Provinciehuis, Hasselt t Zilte, MAS, Antwerp http://www.koenvandenbroek.org