Helmut Stallaerts
30 Oct - 19 Dec 2015
HELMUT STALLAERTS
Heads and Tails
30 October - 19 December 2015
Albert Baronian is pleased to announce the third exhibition of Helmut Stallaerts, entitled Heads and Tails.
Every one of Helmut Stallaerts’ exhibitions presents a new ensemble and represents a new chapter in the artist's oeuvre. Ambiguity and the creation of several layers of meaning play a key role, both in his works as well as in the way he brings them together in an exhibition. The exhibition title Heads and Tails could in this way refer to the tossing of a coin to let chance decide who wins or loses: heads or tails. The title can however also be translated literally as heads and tails, a possible reference to the snake which, if you put its tail in its mouth, will consume itself, becoming, in this way, as symbol of infinity since beginning and end coincide
in the form of the circle.
In the exhibition Heads and Tails, the concept of dualism or duality is prominently brought to the fore. The classic explanation for this duality is the philosophical idea that man is composed of mind and body, but in our thinking, all basic principles are reduced to dual elements: good and evil, Eros and Thanatos, Yin and Yang, heaven and earth, man and wife, cold and warmth, beauty and ugliness ... These are not merely opposing values, but also values that complete each other. Some dual elements regulate our existence; others (such as life versus death or the Universe versus the Big Void) simply fill us with oppressive uneasiness. These ubiquitous but nonetheless difficult to comprehend elements in our lives are important common threads throughout the entire oeuvre of Helmut Stallaerts.
Helmut Stallaerts aims to fathom the tension between the dual elements in our lives, not by means of scientific tools, but rather by employing his imagination. His work is in this way fully in line with a visionary tradition in the visual arts, which includes all artists who wish to see beyond our known reality. The artist does not aim to overwhelm us with brilliant virtuosity or entertain us with clever tricks, rather he wishes to confront us with what we actually do not want to see or understand. Even if Helmut Stallaerts does not formulate a comprehensive response, he does dissect in his work the surrogates that seem to give meaning to our existence, such as power, ego and possessions, and confronts us with the brutal Emptiness they seem to hide. An unsettling experience.
Heads and Tails
30 October - 19 December 2015
Albert Baronian is pleased to announce the third exhibition of Helmut Stallaerts, entitled Heads and Tails.
Every one of Helmut Stallaerts’ exhibitions presents a new ensemble and represents a new chapter in the artist's oeuvre. Ambiguity and the creation of several layers of meaning play a key role, both in his works as well as in the way he brings them together in an exhibition. The exhibition title Heads and Tails could in this way refer to the tossing of a coin to let chance decide who wins or loses: heads or tails. The title can however also be translated literally as heads and tails, a possible reference to the snake which, if you put its tail in its mouth, will consume itself, becoming, in this way, as symbol of infinity since beginning and end coincide
in the form of the circle.
In the exhibition Heads and Tails, the concept of dualism or duality is prominently brought to the fore. The classic explanation for this duality is the philosophical idea that man is composed of mind and body, but in our thinking, all basic principles are reduced to dual elements: good and evil, Eros and Thanatos, Yin and Yang, heaven and earth, man and wife, cold and warmth, beauty and ugliness ... These are not merely opposing values, but also values that complete each other. Some dual elements regulate our existence; others (such as life versus death or the Universe versus the Big Void) simply fill us with oppressive uneasiness. These ubiquitous but nonetheless difficult to comprehend elements in our lives are important common threads throughout the entire oeuvre of Helmut Stallaerts.
Helmut Stallaerts aims to fathom the tension between the dual elements in our lives, not by means of scientific tools, but rather by employing his imagination. His work is in this way fully in line with a visionary tradition in the visual arts, which includes all artists who wish to see beyond our known reality. The artist does not aim to overwhelm us with brilliant virtuosity or entertain us with clever tricks, rather he wishes to confront us with what we actually do not want to see or understand. Even if Helmut Stallaerts does not formulate a comprehensive response, he does dissect in his work the surrogates that seem to give meaning to our existence, such as power, ego and possessions, and confronts us with the brutal Emptiness they seem to hide. An unsettling experience.