From 1 April to 24 May 2021, visual artist Arnaud Eubelen will be exhibiting a series of outdoor installations and photographs at the Sart Tilman. Conceived as a performance-exhibition, the project is intimately linked to the place in which and for which the works were created.
During the month preceding the exhibition, the artist cycled around the Sart Tilman area in order to locate, collect and gradually assemble elements found on the site to make installations. Arnaud Eubelen’s desire to “make with” the materials found on the site corresponds not only to his artistic practice of many years, using almost essentially waste materials, but also to a desire to create works in direct relation to the site and its history. Thus, for this project at the Sart Tilman, Arnaud Eubelen pushes the process further by forbidding himself to use materials from outside the site. This constraint also led the artist to consider materials that are generally absent from his plastic vocabulary, such as those directly from nature, thus adding a new dimension to his work.
Arnaud Eubelen’s installations are often inspired by everyday objects such as furniture, lights or architectural forms (shelters, huts…). But although most of the installations suggest that they are functional, the use of them is often constrained or uncomfortable. The imperfect imitation of furniture or architecture, whose functions have been diverted or rendered unproductive, thus poses a humorous and ironic view of the human environment. Arnaud Eubelen’s practice, which is based on the reinterpretation of materials of industrial origin, can also be read as a commentary through the absurd on the artefacts of what is now called the Anthropocene.
Arnaud Eubelen also has a singular photographic practice, intrinsically linked to his working process, documenting places, objects and installations as they are discovered and developed. Taken frontally and often with flashlight, his unvarnished images reveal the strange world and the signs that seem to announce a catastrophe.
With the title “Free Rider Problem” Arnaud Eubelen evokes the economic phenomenon of the loss of income due to the use of a service or good by some without paying for it. While the artist’s approach to the recycling of materials is of course not to blame (quite the contrary), it does show a desire for independence, somewhat in the spirit of arte povera, from the usual logics of material production.
The artist
Arnaud Eubelen (Liège, 1991) lives and works in Brussels. He studied industrial design at Saint-Luc (Liège) and at La Cambre (Brussels). He regularly exhibits his work both in Belgium and abroad. Recent solo exhibitions include Unified Glare Rating at the Casino du Luxembourg (Luxembourg City, 2020-2021), the Prix de la Jeune Sculpture de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles at the Musée en plein air du Sart Tilman (Liège, 2020), Porous Walls Reminiscence at the Neuer Aachener Kunstverein NAK (Aachen, 2019), Living Technique at the Galerie Central (Liège, 2017) and group exhibitions such as the triennial Art Public (Liège, 2020), Biennal van België with the collective La Superette at SMAK (Ghent, 2019), Summer Solstice Festival at Komplot (Brussels, 2019), He Drank Me with Eva L’Hoest and Michael Debatty at Les Brasseurs (Liège, 2018), Turnaround with Lisa Meyer at the Space Collection (Liège, 2018) or After Effects with Eva L’Hoest and Thomas Depas at Air Antwerpen (2017).
Limited edition
On the occasion of this exhibition, the Musée en plein air is offering a limited edition of a lamp designed by Arnaud Eubelen for sale.
Information and reservation
PRACTICAL INFORMATIONS
Exhibition at the Musée en plein air du Sart Tilman
From 1 April to 24 May 2021
Free and open access:
Monday to Sunday 24 hours a day
Starting point of the tour (with a map):
Welcome pavilion of the Musée en plein air
Rond-point Simone David-Constant
4000 Liège (Sart Tilman)
Access:
Free parking
Public transport: bus line 48, “Amphithéâtres” stop (leaves from the Opera in the city centre and passes by the Liège Guillemins train station)
Visit in the presence of the artist:
Due to sanitary regulations, we cannot propose a festive opening. However, the artist will be present on the exhibition route to discuss with you on Thursday 1st April from 12:00 to 20:00 and on Saturday 3rd April from 14:00 to 18:00.
To respect the rules in force, please walk around in groups of maximum 4 people or in private bubbles.
Photos: Arnaud Eubelen