VINCENT GEYSKENS

softcover, 270 x 210 mm, 200 pages, 200 illustraties, Eng. edition. ISBN 9789462303157. First monograph on this Belgian artist. In his work, Vincent Geyskens examines the position of painting in contemporary society. Abstraction, figuration, a variety of media and styles of painting are engaged with as he probes their possibilities and limits. For an artist, painting is a way of turning thoughts into something tangible, translating them into substance. The exhibition at M will place the spotlight on the breadth of his experience and will gather together diverse series and types of work produced over the course of his oeuvre. The focus will be on his output during the past ten years, complemented by a number of older reference works. The exhibition forges links between various approaches and gives voice to his quest as a painter for the status of the image and visual representation in the present day. M is displaying not only collages, sketches, and painted series of frames, but also paintings that range from still lifes and portraits to abstract colour compositions with thickly applied paint. The publication will also zoom in on his practical work over the past ten years, bringing together various series in free-ranging connection with one another. Dominic van den Boogerd has written an explanatory article on his recent work, while Eva Wittocx has interviewed the artist about his choices and thought processes. The book is amply illustrated. AUTHORS: Dominic van den Boogerd (1959, Breda) is an art critic based in Amsterdam. His reviews and essays have been published in numerous exhibition catalogues and art magazines, including Metropolis M, ArtReview and De Witte Raaf. His collected essays on painting, Great Temptations (2018), were published by Roma Publications in Dutch and English editions. Currently, he is Head of Research and Education at De Ateliers, Amsterdam, where he was director from 1995 to 2018. Eva Wittocx (1975, Mechelen) is Head of Department and Senior Curator of Contemporary Art at M Leuven . There, she has curated exhibitions for artists such as Ugo Rondinone, Eija-Liisa Ahtila, Yto Barrada, Patrick Van Caeckenbergh and Markus Schinwald. Previously, she worked as curator at STUK (Leuven) and S.M.A.K. (Ghent) . In addition, she is curator and co-founder of the live arts festival Playground , which M organizes annually together with STUK. In 2017 she represented Belgium at the Venice Biennale with artist Dirk Braeckman. Vincent Geyskens (1971, Lier) has previously had solo exhibitions of his work at S.M.A.K. (Ghent), Galerie Annette De Keyser (Antwerp), Trampoline (Antwerp), Envoy Gallery (New York) and CC De Garage (Mechelen). He has participated in various group exhibitions, including at KANAL - Centre Pompidou (Brussels), Roger Raveelmuseum (Machelen-Zulte), CIAP (Hasselt), Museum Dr. Guislain (Ghent) and Wiels (Brussels). Since 2007 he has taught at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Ghent). In addition, he also gives classes at La Cambre (Brussels) and at the Higher Institute of Fine Arts (Ghent). His work is included in numerous public and private collections.