‘1.1 MILLION POUNDS’

WILLEM BOEL | CHARLIE DE VOET | RITSART GOBYN

27/11/2021 - 23/01/2022

(Please contact us to receive the catalog of works)

Text by Jef Declercq

As per research, the average weight of a cumulus cloud is 1.1 million pounds. Surprisingly heavier than one might expect, the notion of exactness affiliated to this scientific calculation, conflicts with our intuitive perception of the phenomena. Derived from the Latin cumulo - meaning heap or pile - these elemental configurations are formed seemingly automatic by a number of predictable and unpredictable variants.

1.1 million pound exhibits the work of Willem Boel, Charlie De Voet and Ritsart Gobyn. Each of these artists employs a tensive balance between exact decisions and intuitive actions at the core of their creative proces. The accumulation of a multitude of components characterizes their artistic work which cultivates a precarious appearance on the internal structure of what they create.

The paintings of Ritsart Gobyn (BE, 1985) seem effortless at first glance. A coincidental yet balanced composition of magazine shreds, sometimes referring to old masters, unintentional residues of paint and leftover yellow tape. The accumulation of these elements bring forth a whole of ongoing traces that register the decisions made by the artist. Rather then employing his technical know-how of trompe l'oeil for mere illusionistic purposes, Ritsart Gobyn introduces painting that is process-referential. Catching one’s own inability to perceive things objectively, the viewer is confronted with the rhetorical possibilities of painting.

Ritsart Gobyn ‘*Untitled’* 2021
40 x 30 cm, acrylic, oil and spray paint on linen
*Courtesy of the artist and Plus-One gallery.*

Charlie De Voet *‘Fractured Painting’* 2020, Oil on canvas , 228 x 204 cm
*Courtesy of the artist and Barbé Urbain.*

Charlie De Voet (BE, 1977) consciously imposes a quasi-mechanical automatized method on his decision-making proces. These physical actions, which have a distinct therapeutic character, result in large scale monochrome, or rather polychrome, paintings that are generated through the excessive accumulation of layers upon layers of wet oil paints. The artist treats the painted surface as a autonomous skin-like structure, often detaching it from it’s carrier to produce new compositions. Possessing critical sculptural characteristics, these paintings examine the traditional components of the painted medium.

Willem Boel *‘Pare Feu #44’* (2021) Iron, rope, paint, tape, 232 x 60 x 51 cm
*Courtesy of the artist and Bruthaus.*

The excessive, repetitive accumulation of paint on a surface acts as the essential element in Willem Boel’s (BE, 1983) Pare Feu series which hold a key position in his artistic practice. Bearing witness to the physical process of their creation, the work of Willem Boel reveals the artists capability to fuse the painterly and sculptural medium. The unification of an industrial materiality with the multitude of painterly layers captures the unpredictable chaotic and the disciplined precision that shape his installations.

‘1.1 million pounds’

WILLEM BOEL, CHARLIE DE VOET, RITSART GOBYN

On view until 23 January 2022

BARBÉ URBAIN
Penitentenstraat 29, 9000 Gent
Thu. - Sun. | 14.00 - 18.00
7/7 by appointment

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