The 8th Edition of the Biennial of Painting to Commence this June at Three Art Museums at the Banks of the Leie

From 26 June to 2 October 2022, the three visual art museums at the banks of the Leie — the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens (MDD), the Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region (mudel) and the Roger Raveel Museum (RRM) — join forces to present the 8th edition of the Biennial of Painting.

Since 2008, MDD, mudel and Roger Raveel Museum have simultaneously presented paintings from Belgium and abroad every two years. This 'celebration of painting' always departs from the context and the collection of the three museums.

This year too, the Biennial of Painting presents a combination of modern and contemporary painting, with internationally renowned artists such as Kerry James Marshall, Oscar Murillo, Marthe Donas, Raoul De Keyser, Jef Geys, Emile Claus, James Ensor, Luc Tuymans and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven.

Jan Van Imschoot, Le fin de l'avenir, 1998, olieverf op doek, 60 x 50cm, Privecollectie Frankrijk

For this 8th edition, each museum explores the history of painting in its own unique way. The result is three exhibitions, for which each museum invites one or more guest curators who, based on an individual selection, shed light on the characteristics of the medium of painting and link it to current themes.

Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens invites artist Oscar Murillo and curator Gabi Ngcobo to focus, with the exhibition The 't' is Silent, on artists and works that record time differently, works that are about painting or that think through the medium of painting as a form of journaling – of working things through and of learning anew. The artists featured in this exhibition - Marcela Cantuária, Hamishi Farah, Donna Kukama, Kerry James Marshall, Oscar Murillo, Brandon Ndife and Francis Offman, among others - face history and the present by embracing ‘trouble’ and a kind of ‘paining’ that forces one to decide, in a time marked indecision. Where objects disappear, they are replaced by feelings and energy; where they appear they are being dissected in order to uncover another world of possibilities.

Museum of Deinze and the Leie region collaborates with philosopher and art critic Willem Elias and platvvorm. The exhibition Gamechangers & Eyeopeners investigates how artists look at the work of previous generations. Mudel analyses the practice of several artists who are embedded and nourished by local trends or traditions, but are unable to fully ground themselves in it or who experience it as too limited. The presentation of mudel will include work by Emile Claus, Raoul De Keyser, Marcin Dudek, Dieter Durinck, Henri Evenepoel, Jef Geys, Gommaar Gilliams, Torahiro Kojima, Guy Mees and Gustave Van de Woestyne.

The Roger Raveel Museum has engaged artist Vaast Colson for the selection of artists and artworks, as well as the presentation of the works. The exhibition Scribble, dabble, splatter, smear questions the intrinsic properties of painting as a visual medium, its technical qualities and its two-dimensional universe filled with signs and motifs. The exhibition shows that an artwork is created in a place where the artist is working, in a local context, but is embedded in a much larger and broader story that transcends borders and time. The selection spans more than a hundred years and includes only artists who were or are active in Belgium, such as Fred Bervoets, Thierry De Cordier, Raoul De Keyser, Gust. De Smet, Marthe Donas, James Ensor, Vincent Geyskens, Roger Raveel, Léon Spilliaert, Walter Swennen, Luc Tuymans, Frits Van den Berghe, Jan Van Imschoot, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Philippe Vandenberg, Jan Vercruysse and Marthe Wéry.

The three museums are also launching a common website in which all practical information is gathered, as well as the history of the previous editions. This platform ​ serve as a source of inspiration for visitors and researchers.

The Biennial of Painting is an ideal cultural excursion or weekend trip for the whole family. The three museums are located in a straight line barely 13 kilometres from each other. Combine a visit to the three museums with a combi-ticket and a cycling or walking tour through the beautiful Leie region.