BRUSSELS.- Independent announced highlights for the second edition of Independent Brussels, which will return to the Vanderborght building from April 19-23, 2017. The fair will include 70 international galleries and non-profits, many solo and site-driven projects, representing 32 cities globally.
"With the 2017 edition of Independent Brussels, we are excited to expand upon the dialogue that we began last year in the extraordinary architectural environment of the Vanderborght Building in the historic centre of Brussels,” says Matthew Higgs, Independent’s founding curatorial advisor. “As with the New York edition of the Independent, which is now in its eighth year, Independent Brussels is an organic conversation between artists, galleries and the general public. Moving away from the trade show-like aesthetics common to many art fairs, Independent Brussels seeks to establish instead a dynamic, innovative – and freely accessible – forum for all forms of contemporary art."
Belgium Debut: Independent’s Belgian vision embraces galleries and artists marking a solo or program debut for the first time in the country. For the 2017 edition, Independent will feature more than 40 artists for their Belgian debut. These artists include: Gina Beavers, Daniel Klaas Beckwith, Amy Brener, Jesse Benson, BORO, Max Brand, Seyni Awa Camara, Tom Chamberlain, Liz Craft, Hélène Delprat, Elena del Rivero, Eliza Douglas, Awol Erizku, Sara Favriau, Thomas Eggerer, Justin Fitzpatrick, Esther Friedman, Dumitru Gorzo, Patrick Hamilton, Otis Jones, Jonah King, Elizaveta Konovalova, Aimée Zito Lema, Fred Lonidier, Mateo López, James Miller, Nandipha Mntambo, Virginia Lee Montgomery, Pentti Monkkonen, Nika Neelova, Kaido Ole, Paulo Nimer Pjota, Ataa Oko, Mikael Oye Hegnar, Bruno Pelassy, Sara Ramo, Anja Schwoerer, Leonor Serrano Rivas, Naomi Safran – Hon., David Schutter, Attila Szűcs, Mary Weatherford, Wesley Willis and Ulrich Wulff, among others (list in formation).
Keeping with Independent’s mission to rotate exhibitors for each edition, there will be 30 first-time participants at the second edition of Independent Brussels.
Site-specific installations: The fair will feature several projects specifically conceived for Independent. Marcel Dzama will curate a group exhibition titled The Mask Makers with David Zwirner. The works shown will relate to the theme of the mask, a prevalent motif within Dzama’s own practice that draws on his interest in Surrealist iconography. Dzama will select both historical and new works across several genres, including some made specifically for the space, with contributions from: Mamma Andersson, R. Crumb, Sherrie Levine, Jockum Nordström, Raymond Pettibon, Lisa Yuskavage and Jordan Wolfson, as well as works by David Altmejd, Peter Doig, James Ensor, Marilyn Minter, Cindy Sherman and Rose Wylie. Peres Projects is expanding an investigation on the connection between contemporary art and premodern African art with works by Donna Huanca, Melike Kara, Dan Attoe, and Blair Thurman. The Approach will present a solo exhibition of site-specific works by Belgium-based artist, Germaine Kruip, addressing time, perception, movement and repetition. Elizabeth Dee will present an intergenerational dialogue with insightful works by the late Steven Parrino in conversation with the Belgian trio Leo Gabin co-curated as an homage and a reactivation. Galerie Maubert will transform a wood-cabin structure by Sara Favriau into its own exhibition space, as a possible new method of looking inside and through a work of art. trampoline will present Vaast Colson, consisting of gender specific blue and pink mannequins organized as if at a protest – with slogans commenting on the state of big and small companies and galleries, addressing the current state of the creative class and corporations.
Solo Exhibitions: Independent is renowned as a platform for focus on a single-artist presentation to inspire in depth experiences and meaningful engagement with the fair’s audience. Over 20% of participating galleries will feature solo exhibitions this year. Some of those presentations include: Delmes & Zander will present a selection of drawings by keyboard musician Wesley Willis in an exhibition titled Rock n' Roll Superhighway. Willis rendered Chicago’s Dan Ryan Expressway and geometric skyline with frenetic activated drawing. EXILE and APALAZZOGALLLERY will show Nathalie Du Pasquier – pictorial compositions that expand beyond the perimeter of the canvas. Her understanding of space in relation to objects originates from her emergence as a founding members of the legendary Memphis Group, the prominent Milanese design and architecture collective launched by Ettore Sottsass in 1980. Other notable solo presentations for 2017 include: Guillaume Leblon in a collaborative booth shared by carlier | gebauer, Jocelyn Wolff and Projecte SD; Ethan Greenbaum at Galerie Sébastien Bertrand; Awol Erizku at Stems Gallery; Joseph Montgomery at Dürst Britt & Mayhew; Mikael Øye Hegnar at 1857; Michael Pybus at Tatjana Pieters; Nika Neelova at Vigo Gallery.
Collaborative Presentations: Each year Independent encourages dialogue and collaboration between galleries and artists to create inspiring projects. gb agency and Jan Mot will present Ryan Gander and Mario Garcia Torres, both forming playful encounters between two artistic practices. Mary Mary’s presentation will allow for dialogue between two artists, Amanda RossHo and Emily Mae Smith, who have responded to each other's works throughout the making process. Galerie 1900-2000 and C L E A R I N G will present a unique project where the gallerists choose the work from the program of the other: Harold Ancart, Jean-Marie Appriou, Korakrit Arunanondchai, Hans Bellmer, Huma Bhabha, Sebastian Black, Marcel Broodthaers, Victor Brauner, George Condo, William Copley, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Jean Dubuffet, Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Aaron Garber-Maikovska, Bruno Gironcoli, Raymond Hains, Zak Kitnick, Man Ray, Calvin Marcus, Henri Michaux, Eduardo Paolozzi, Francis Picabia, Marina Pinsky, Loïc Raguénès & Ed Ruscha.
Independent has disrupted normal art-fair conventions to successfully create a new type of event that is designed by and for galleries. Independent’s tight curatorial point of view and conversational approach with participants prioritizes dialogue and consensus as a model, forming new exhibition experiences and fresh artistic collaborations. Founded in 2010 in New York and in 2016 in Belgium, Independent now has two annual editions with a rotating participant network of over 200 galleries worldwide.
