The exhibitions Urgent Conversations: Athens–Antwerp and Urgent Conversations: Antwerp – Athens are a collaboration between EMST and M HKA, a theoretical and visual dialogue, based on works from the collections of both museums, which includes more than 70 works structured in 22 topics.
28.04.2017 - 07.01.2018
M HKA, Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen - Leuvenstraat 32, 2000 Antwerpen
EMST, National Museum of Contemporary Art - Kallirrois Avenue & Amvr. Frantzi Str., Athens 11743
"I was rum ageing through some junk in the Piemonte area of Italy and found the base of this sculpture. It had been a beautiful, hand‐made base for a hat rack made of American black walnut wood, so damaged by worms, that it had been thrown away. I took it to my studio in Rome, treated for all infestations and then put a special hardening agent on the areas that were rotten. I then varnished the entire thing and let it sit in my studio while it thought. (...)
I had in my Studio some brightly colored clothes pins, which looked a little like birds so I stuck them on to the top of the sculpture. One looked like the blue bird of happiness and one looked like the miner's canary. And I wondered what kind of song these two birds would sing. The sculpture itself said, 'classic rock'." [read the full text bellow]