BRUSSELS.- For the exhibition Imagined Realities, MLF | Marie-Laure Fleisch is presenting work by Claire Milbrath, Tessa Perutz, Anna Torma, and Joana Vasconcelos. With practices spanning painting, sculpture and textile, these four artists have each carved out a unique vocabulary in their field. Their work is, however, related by their desire to envision a world beyond their own physical realities, taking elements of real life and pushing them to the point of fantasy or dream. Their work attests to the fact that art does not only allow us to investigate the world around us, but also to explore a world which we could only wish existed.

Beyond being a space of creation, the artist’s studio is a place of reflection, imagination and creativity. Things that are not possible in the outside world become tangible, and that which is invisible takes on material forms. This is a space in which the artist can be free to explore ideas that are beyond the realities of the everyday life, incorporating notions of fantasy, play or even nostalgia. Possible futures are explored, as well as (im)possible pasts.

Claire Milbrath (1989, Victoria, Canada) lives and works in Montreal. Her solo exhibitions include: Disegni section, curated by Luís Silva and João Mourão, Artissima, Torino, Italy (with Steve Turner) (2018); Crome Yellow, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, USA (2017) and Solo Exhibition, Galerie Éphémère, Montreal, Canada (2015). Her group exhibitions include: Through-Line: Drawing and Weaving by 19 Artists, Steve Turner, Los Angeles, USA (2018); Vendu-Solde, Museum of Fine Arts, Montreal, Canada (2017); The Garden, Project Pangée, Montreal, Canada (2016) and Comforter, curated by Petra Collins, SFAQ, San Francisco, USA (2015).

Tessa Perutz (1988, Chicago, USA) lives and works in Brussels. Her solo exhibitions include: La Lune Lavande, Stems Gallery, Brussels, Belgium (2019); Sans Souci, 3-D Foundation, Verbier, Switzerland (2018) and Karma Solaire, Pablo’s Birthday, New York, USA (2018). Her group exhibitions include: Salon de Peinture, MUHKA, Antwerp, Belgium (2019); Somewhere, Atlanta Contemporary, Atlanta, USA (2017); Everything is Going to be Alright, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, USA (2017); Group Show, curated by Lucien Smith, Milk Studios, New York, USA (2017) and Whisper to me in HTML, with Imogen Lloyd and art404, Prelim Projects, London, UK (2016).

Anna Torma (1952, Tamaors, Hungary) lives and works in Baie Verte, Canada. Her solo exhibitions include: Anna Torma, Textile Museum of Canada, Toronto, Canada (2020); Book of Abandoned Details, Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada (2018); Anna Torma: Tangled, L.A.Pai Gallery, Ottawa, Canada (2015) and Anna Torma: Multiple Narratives, curated by Stefano Catalani, Bellevue Arts Museum, Seattle, USA (2014). Her group exhibitions include: II. Textile Biennial, Kunststitching Perspectief, Haacht, Belgium (2017); Singular Mythologies, 1700 La Poste, Montreal, Canada (2016) and Writing Topography, Marion McCain Exhibition of Contemporary Canadian Art Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, Canada (2015).

Joana Vasconcelos (1971, Lisbon, Portugal) lives and works in Lisbon. Her solo exhibitions include: Joana Vasconcelos, I Want to Break Free, Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg, France (2018); Textures of Life, ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum, Aarhus, Denmark (2016); 56th International Art Exhibition – la Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2015) and Time Machine, Manchester Art Gallery, United Kingdom (2014). Her group exhibitions include: Summer Exhibition, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England (2018); Women’s House, La Monnaie, Paris, France (2017) and Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, Madrid (2015).