CURATED CHRISTMAS

2nd edition of a Pop-up store bringing together contemporary art and "urban folk" art.

IN A FEW WORDS

Dates: 7 to 10 December 2023
Venue: Galerie Jonathan F. Kugel, Rue Watteeu 16, 1000 Brussels, Belgium
What: a lively cultural pop-up store featuring :

• --> an opening on Thursday 7 December, from 4pm to 10pm

• --> a Flash Tattoo day with Samuel Eckert, Jim Kylam and Antoine Wantoo, on Sunday 10 December, from 12pm to 6pm

• --> and from 7 to 10 December : an exhibition of contemporary art an ephemeral boutique offering music, illustration and handicrafts.

MORE DETAILS

For the 2nd time, Jonathan F. Kugel Gallery, Cabinet de Curiosités Contemporain, is inviting the nomadic concept store COLLOQUE to set up shop for a weekend. This is an opportunity to bring together the 2 respective worlds of Jonathan's contemporary art and COLLOQUE's more 'popular' art.

On offer will be a careful selection of art - paintings and sculptures, utilitarian ceramics, vinyls, illustration, fanzines and comic strips. There's something for every budget and every Christmas present!

• What is the Jonathan F. Kugel Gallery, Cabinet de Curiosités Contemporain?

Located a stone's throw from the Grand Sablon, in a neo-Flemish house dating from 1888, the façade of which is recognisable by its turret and sculpted balcony. This former solicitor's office with its imposing fireplaces is home to Jonathan F. Kugel's Cabinet de Curiosités Contemporain, which blends periods and styles through a programme of thematic exhibitions.

The artists represented combine traditional craftsmanship and virtuosity with original and innovative visions. Alongside them are works from all eras, with a particular taste for European paintings and objets d'art from the 17th to the 19th centuries, chosen for their authenticity, aesthetic quality and/or strangeness. From there, a conversation begins.

"I look for the same qualities in a contemporary work as I do in an antique: virtuosity, craftsmanship, historical relevance and vision. The object is a source of emotion through its beauty, grotesqueness or abnormality, and an intellectual stimulus through its science, technique, history and the story it tells.”

• What is the COLLOQUE concept store?

Tired of having to shop around for every birthday or Christmas, only to find pieces that are sorely lacking in authenticity, Cédric decided to set up his own boutique.

He has brought together a range of unique or limited-edition pieces, mostly from very different worlds, to satisfy all tastes. In other words: a concept-store for cultural gifts called COLLOQUE.

Working with a network of artists, craftspeople, publishers and labels, COLLOQUE offers an eclectic and coherent selection of cutting-edge yet accessible items from 3 worlds: - illustration, with fanzines and comics from independent publishers, as well as screen-printed, riso or digitally printed posters - music, with vinyl records and cassettes from independent labels - crafts, with handmade utilitarian ceramics.

Finally, Cédric creates themed gift sets to establish links, or gateways, between these 3 worlds, called 'Conversations'. For example, the Conversation amoureuse combines a soul music record for those romantic evenings, a vase for decanting the wine that intoxicates you, and a gift box for a special occasion.

the wine that will intoxicate you, and an illustration to let your mind wander...

• L’exposition

For "Curated Christmas" Jonathan will be showcasing the work of a young ceramist, Onno Theelen (NL/ 1996). His colourful, baroque world will rub shoulders with that of the no less extravagant Carolein Smit, whose pupil he was. Add a few oddities like James Webster's terracotta monsters, Vivian van Blerk's crazy fauna, Studio Kartini's porcelain space-monkeys, and Sota Sakuma's paintings and puppets, to name but a few, and you have a merry (curated) bazaar of unique works.

• The vernissage

A vernissage will be held on Thursday 7 December from 4pm to 10pm at 16 rue Watteeu, Sablon, Brussels, in the presence of some of the artists. Join us for a drink or two to share and celebrate our passion for creativity. It's also the perfect opportunity to do your Christmas shopping and spoil your nearest and dearest (and yourself!).

• Le Flash Day Tattoo

COLLOQUE and Jonathan F. Kugel are inviting 3 artists to a flash day tattoo on Sunday from 12pm to 6pm.
The idea behind these flash day tattoos is that each artist will offer 2 tattoo sheets exclusive to this session. There's no need to make an appointment, just turn up and choose the design you want to have tattooed. First come, first tattooed: once one of the designs has been tattooed, no-one else can have it! So this is a rare opportunity to get a unique tattoo - you won't come across anyone else with the same tattoo!

The 3 guest artists are already well known to tattoo fans:

SAMUEL ECKERT

Near-sighted from the age of 2 and a half, Samuel Eckert takes a special look at our world, trying to play with shapes as well as words. Juggling between different practices and media (from mural painting to skin, paper and canvas), he combines his personal work with commissioned projects as an illustrator, art director and tattoo artist.

JIM KYLAM

A self-taught artist, Jim Kylam composes a graphic universe made up of symbols and ideograms that confront, entangle and respond to each other. On paper as on skin, on canvas as on wood, the artist arranges stories and allegories that are up to each individual to appropriate and interpret.

Imbued with mystical and religious iconography and art brut, influenced by the world of film-makers Alejandro Jodorowsky and Kenneth Anger, Jim Kylam's work offers a modern interpretation of ancestral signs, which become, through his compositional work, a means of apprehending and reading the world around us. Often constructed as a mirror image, the association of symbols seems to evoke the ambivalence and duplicity of all things.

ANTOINE WANTOO

Antoine Woodhouse lives in Brussels but grew up between Toulouse and the Pyrenees. His work emanates from a childhood spent among the hills of the Pyrenean foothills. The imagery he creates is filled with imaginary landscapes and folk characters. His aim is to convey an image of refuge, an ideal way of life and a utopian vision of the world with a commitment to the environment.

And we have more surprises for you!