Les Entremetteurs
The vitrine presents a speculative cloakroom and a library of the Institute. This exhibition interrogates the limits between art and graphic design which are often hard to define. Rather than comparing them as two separate domains, The Belgian Institute of Graphic Design is exploring their connections by taking a closer look at what brings them together. It is no secret that these two disciplines come from the same source. The one can not survive without its creativity, the other cannot survive without its communication. The ambiguous position of a designer is inherent to the in-between discipline, a meeting point of different disciplines.
The different ‘entremetteurs’ (matchmakers) shown in the vitrine combine the two practices together, playing with the norms and conventions of each. The ‘entremetteurs’ often wear several hats: As graphic designers, artists, textile designers, multitaskers, entrepreneurs, poets, and much more.
The different works of printed matter and textile, presented in a commercial showcase, but in the context of an artist’s route seem to have found their place. By confounding different temporalities with older and very recent works, a different associative narrative is created through gathering graphic design with artistic works. The showcase gives the impression of entering one’s interior, where the content and location gives place to imagine a new framework to both the history of art and of graphic design in Belgium.
The vitrine presents work from Jan Vercruysse, Sophie & Sami Alouf, Marcel Broodthaers, Julian Key, Jan & Randoald, Johan Van Geluwe, Jef Geys, Olga D’Haene, Caroline Wolewinski, Joseph Willaert and Steven Deprez.
We would like to thank Art Au Centre Liège for the invitation!