Xavier Theunis: Half en half
The work of Xavier Theunis (b. 1978, Anderlecht) lies at the crossroads of architecture, design and contemporary art. Through a minimalist, conceptual approach, he uses industrial materials (sometimes recycled) and questions our relationship with the objects and images that surround us, infusing them with a subtle, offbeat sense of humor.
Half en Half, his third exhibition at Backslash, is named after a Brussels cocktail that translates to "half and half". Acidic and sweet ingredients mixed to create a more balanced bouquet. Whether in intention, realization or scenography, Theunis suggests that the artistic experience could also be a way of accommodating contrasting elements. The exhibition showcases images in which a variety of colors, treatments and gestures are combined in a way that is at times adherent and at other times fractured. Through his collages, photographs and installations, forms are shifted and blurred; mixed to the point where they end up standing - facing the eye - in an interval, between surface and depth. It is hard to say which came first, the plane or the perspective. Using a vocabulary of lines and textures and precise gestures of deconstruction, he seeks to achieve a certain effect of disorientation. In the end, this effect takes us back to a place that feels at the same time unknown and familiar, suspended in-between time, like a homeland to be discovered. Xavier Theunis's work has been shown in many countries and can be found in prestigious collections such as Nice's MAMAC and Monaco's Nouveau Mus茅e National.
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The work of Xavier Theunis (b. 1978, Anderlecht) lies at the crossroads of architecture, design and contemporary art. Through a minimalist, conceptual approach, he uses industrial materials (sometimes recycled) and questions our relationship with the objects and images that surround us, infusing them with a subtle, offbeat sense of humor.
Half en Half, his third exhibition at Backslash, is named after a Brussels cocktail that translates to "half and half". Acidic and sweet ingredients mixed to create a more balanced bouquet. Whether in intention, realization or scenography, Theunis suggests that the artistic experience could also be a way of accommodating contrasting elements. The exhibition showcases images in which a variety of colors, treatments and gestures are combined in a way that is at times adherent and at other times fractured. Through his collages, photographs and installations, forms are shifted and blurred; mixed to the point where they end up standing - facing the eye - in an interval, between surface and depth. It is hard to say which came first, the plane or the perspective. Using a vocabulary of lines and textures and precise gestures of deconstruction, he seeks to achieve a certain effect of disorientation. In the end, this effect takes us back to a place that feels at the same time unknown and familiar, suspended in-between time, like a homeland to be discovered. Xavier Theunis's work has been shown in many countries and can be found in prestigious collections such as Nice's MAMAC and Monaco's Nouveau Mus茅e National.
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