Groupshow Un-Scene III

Un-Scene III brings together 13 emerging artists from Belgium or based in the country. The exhibition offers a snapshot of the art scene at a given moment while underscoring WIELS’ role as an international institution firmly rooted in the Belgian context. It presents both newly commissioned works and existing pieces across a wide range of media. The variety of approaches is striking, yet several shared concerns come to the fore: the impact of digital imagery on how we see and create images; a renewed attention to beauty, craftsmanship and the decorative; the appropriation of artworks and the delegation of authorship; and the evocation of an absent or dematerialized body.

The title – a play on words that hints at the invisible, the unnoticed, the hidden, as well as the idea of a “non-scene” – resonates differently today than when it was first used at WIELS in 2008 and 2012. While Belgium continues to host multiple artistic scenes (not always divided by federal borders, but often along linguistic lines), it is also home to a growing international community that has expanded in both scale and reputation over recent years. This very heterogeneity may be what draws so many artists from abroad, who are able to find their place within this flexible network. The diversity of the Belgian art landscape is reflected in the selection for Un-Scene III: born between 1970 and 1990, the artists span seven nationalities, represent an extended generation, and cannot be reduced to a single scene.

With :

Béatrice Balcou
Jean-Baptiste Bernadet
Sébastien Bonin
Kasper Bosmans
Erika Hock
Hedwig Houben
Stephanie Kiwitt
Yuki Okumura
Marina Pinsky
Marnie Slater
Leen Voet
Freek Wambacq