Sanguine / Bloedrood

During the cultural city festival Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens Inspires, the M HKA, the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, juxtaposes the spirit of the baroque masters with the vision of contemporary top artists. With the exhibition Sanguine/Bloedrood (Blood Red), curator Luc Tuymans aims to overwhelm the visitor by placing key works from the baroque of, among others, Francisco de Zurbarán and Caravaggio, in dialogue with works by classical contemporary masters, such as On Kawara and Edward Kienholz, as well as new works by contemporary stars such as Zhang Enli, Takashi Murakami, Michaël Borremans, Sigmar Polke and Tobias Rheberger.

antwerpenbarok2018.be

Jan Vercruysse

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Places (III.5), 2006

Jan Vercruysse

Sculpture , 130 x 78 x 1.5 cm

galvanized steel

Throughout the series *Places*, Vercruysse uses the universally recognizable symbols of playing cards. For the third group of works within the series, of which *Places (III.5)* is part, Vercruysse designed a usable, legible script based on the card symbols. These works carry actual textual inscriptions, and seem strikingly communicative in the context of Vercruysse's otherwise enigmatic oeuvre. Nonetheless, *Places (III.5)* does not lend itself to a quick reading either. A transcription to our own alphabet leaves us with the text "I AM" on the left panel, and "Here / -- / AND IS" on the right; cryptic, poetic texts with minimal concrete content. They clearly reflect Vercruysse's past as a writer and visual poet, but provide few clues for further interpretation. Again, it is not about the content of the words, but about the possibility of content the words provide.

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