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The heat splashes off: Status of the Art

With technological possibilities, new times are dawning. So too in the art world. Here are a few examples of art, whether or not marked by the spirit of the times. From the meters-high blazing flames on screen by David Claerbout to the timeless black-and-white photography of Bastiaan Woudt.

Warm, warmer ... hotter!

Forest fires are getting closer: Portugal, France. And now also in Belgium. More specifically: in the Chapel of St. Nicholas in Antwerp. As part of Finis Terrae, which reflects on global emergencies such as the climate and energy crisis, increasing extremism and extreme weather conditions, the video installation Wildfire: Meditation on Fire by David Claerbout (b. BE, 1969) can be admired. On a meters-high screen, flames flare up, thick plumes of smoke develop, burning branches screech, the heat splashes off. Yet you keep watching, in the middle of the conflagration in that small church. And you wonder: how much closer can the fire get?

Davidclaerbout.com | Finis-terrae-antwerp.com

David Claerbout, Wildfire (Meditation on fire), 2019-2020; single channel video projection, stereo audio, color, 24′; variable size; location St. Nicholas Chapel; photography: © David Samyn/Courtesy the artist and galleries Micheline Szwajcer, Annet Gelink, Pedro Cera, Sean Kelly, Esther Schipper, Rüdiger Schöttle

A new way of sculpting

In recent years the photography of Bastiaan Woudt (b. NL, 1987) has boomed. According to him, this success is due to the fact that his photography is timeless and black and white. "Colors are distracting. In my work I go back to the essence of shapes, lines and character in a portrait." His unique signature led to international exhibitions such as Photo London and Paris Photo and successful auctions (Christie's, Sotheby's, Phillips Auction), and built up to his first museum exhibition last year, Twist at Museum Kranenburgh. For next year, he is raising the bar again by challenging himself creatively. "I often hear from collectors and people who follow me that they find my work sculptural. Built up in layers, sculpted in the studio. Like both pictures pictured here. Apparently I was unconsciously looking for that. I want to explore that more in the coming year. The project I am about to start has everything to do with sculpture. Right now I'm delving into the history of sculptures. Why is a sculpture made? How does a sculpture affect a space? And a space on a sculpture? In principle, I am going to make photographic works that are sculptural, in form. In doing so, I want to explore the boundary between when something is still human and when it is no longer human. It will be less about the model and more about form and content. It's hugely layered. From a 3D environment, I go to a 2D print. Then, with the help of a studio abroad, I am going to turn that flat image back into a 3D object through 3D renderings. Together with a digital artist, I will explore the other side of the work. It's a little dark side of the moon. In the end, the result is a sculpture. The front you recognize from the photo I shot, the back is newly discovered territory. I can fill that in z elf. No idea yet how I will do that, I still have to discover all that. I want to make a series, which I will present by means of photographic works on the wall in combination with sculptures in space. As far as I know, this is something completely new, the way I want to make the sculptures." Also new: his first XXL photo book (edition 30) in a unique format, to be released in 2023 (including stand). A must have for lovers of art photography and for sale from his publisher 1605 Collective since early 2023.

Bastiaanwoudt.com | 1605collective.com

© Bastiaan-Woudt

Cost: 40 million

Almost all the characteristics of Michael Heizer's City are barely conceivable and make it one of the greatest land art projects on earth. The entire project is two and a half miles long and nearly a mile wide, it took fifty years to complete, and it was built in the middle of the hot Mojave Desert in Nevada, a three-hour drive from Las Vegas. The cost ($40 million) also makes City a project of extraordinary magnitude. Michael Heizer (b. USA, 1944) did design a city, but in name only. Constructed entirely of concrete, roads, ramparts, elevations and thoroughfares spread out in all sorts of directions with no clear planning or order. At the end, you see monumental structures gradually taking the form of ancient ruins and pyramids. City is in the tradition of other extraordinary land art works such as Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty in Utah, Walter De Maria's Lightning Field in New Mexico and James Turrell's Roden Crater in Arizona.

Tripleaughtfoundation.org

LXRY LIST 2023

Curious about more? The new LXRY List 2023 is out now! The annual wow magazine with innovative items and surprising addresses, a list that inspires and points to the future. Technological possibilities mean new times are dawning...

LXRY LIST 2023