Ronald Ophuis at the Triennale Brugge 2021

During Triennial Bruges 2021: TraumA, in addition to the installations in the city centre of Bruges, a group exhibition will also be organised to further explore the ambivalent theme: between dream and nightmare, under the skin or underground, from analogue to digital alienation. A selection of around 40 sculptures, photographs, drawings, paintings and videos link the ‘unnerving’ nature of the rooms within the Burghers’ Lodge with dissonant voices, story lines and wondrous worlds. The artists portray their view of the world, mankind and architecture, which sometimes appears to be fragmented or distorted, but at other times also idyllic or heavenly.

Triennial Bruges 2021: TraumA proposes a microscopic view of the environment and its residents, an under-the-skin analysis and an interweaving with the hidden part of the urban fabric. The unspoken or the unnerving comes to the fore in the context of its architecture, urbanisation, gardens or parks. The exhibition The Porous City adds another dimension: the indoor spaces of a building where the work of diverse artists are divided into thematic groups. Here, Triennial Bruges extends the scope of its research from the urban outdoors to the private nature of a former home. In this environment, the research is intensified and narrowed down: in this laboratory, art forms create a dialogue, while others clash or seek conflict.

From the ‘Grand Nada’ to the ‘Vanity of Vanities’, visitors are confused, from cellar to spire, by colourful ribbons, delicate flowers or strings of oil paint. Hard marble, wooden splinters and strange polyester shapes shun today’s individual and social challenges. Besides the different threats, there is naturally also room for idyll and wonder. The fact the work is local, from Belgian workshops or a private collection, makes the presentation meaningful, stirring and reassuring.

With work from Bilal Bahir, Semâ Bekirović, Rakel Bergman Fröberg, Willem Boel, Dries Boutsen, Jana Cordenier, Thierry De Cordier, Sarah De Vos, Lisse Declercq, Danny Devos, Joëlle Dubois, Kendell Geers, Daan Gielis, Geert Goiris, John Isaacs, Athar Jaber, Thomas Lerooy, Emilio López-Menchero, Enrique Marty, Cécile Massart, Hermann Nitsch, Ronald Ophuis, Štefan Papčo, Jasper Rigole, Sarah&Charles, Gregor Schneider, Mircea Suciu, Adrien Tirtiaux, Narcisse Tordoir, Ana Torfs, Gavin Turk, Ingel Vaikla, Caroline Van den Eynden, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Filip Vervaet, Julie Villard & Simon Brossard, Friederike von Rauch.

 

Read more and book your visit here.

Publication date: 5 May '21