Annie Gentils Gallery

Sunday 15 February opens Marc Vanderleenen's 7th exhibition at our gallery on the first floor entitled ‘ INHABITENCE’ with a series of ‘singeries paintings’. Pieter Van der Borcht introduced the singerie theme around 1575. Jean Baptiste Chardin adapted the theme with his painting ‘ The Monkey Painter’ ( 1739) . Marc Vanderleenen ‘s singeries are a copy of this painting. " Vanderleenen succeeded in giving his colour tonality a quite specific extremely individual signature that looks almost patented and consists a mixture of brown-grey, ocher-like tints. By using a lot of yellow - according to the psychological colour spectrum it is one of the most hysterical colours Vanderleenen achieves a highly unique colour signature, as a result of which his work is immediately recognisable and which serves as an overarching flag - or stylistic strategy - that covers a variety of thematic and emotional content. (Thibaut Verhoeven in: Fifty shades of the most self-relativising grey - Aboutness - Marc Vanderleenen). Marc Vanderleenen is born in Mechelen, 1952. He lives and works in Antwerp.

Marie:

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The Ultraviolence series originates from satellite images of war, invasion, and bombing, confronting testimonies of recent history. Cloquet begins with found footage: recordings of conflict zones, which she transforms into layered silkscreens and enhances with painted fragments. This creates a new, seemingly coherent whole that explores the complex relationship between image, truth, and perception. 

In contrast to this is Halab, a series of still lifes of hand-colored collages of analog prints, based on studio photography. The images depict soaps from the Arab world, made with olive oil. When Aleppo was bombed, Cloquet instinctively grabbed the last bars of Aleppo soap she owned. In these compositions, she combines the soaps with textiles from her childhood home: a bedspread from her grandparents' guest room. The fabric, preserved for years in her studio, and the remains of the soap are used as tangible shelter against the horrific reality. 

While Ultraviolence depicts the harsh reality of war and destruction, Halab focuses on gentleness, safety, and recovery. Together, they form a diptych exploring the tension between world and home, between collective trauma and personal memories. Cloquet's work thus testifies to the need for both reflection and protection. And to the enduring power of images in times of unrest.
Marie Cloquet is born in 1976, lives and works in Ghent.