Organized by STRT Kit

In this exhibition, works by artists Jeroen Bocken, Chloë Delanghe, Céline Mathieu, Ans Mertens, and Puck Vonk share a time and a space, just like their makers have shared time and space since the beginning of their STRT Kit residence in January 2018.

WE’RE THIS AND WE’RE THAT, AREN’T WE? takes its title from a painting by American painter Ed Ruscha from 1977, featuring the same ambiguous statement. Adding to the sense of multiplicity, Ruscha painted these words several times, at several occasions, in different color variations, and on different sizes of canvas and paper.

This use of layered concepts and the diversity of deployed materials are also present in this exhibition. Artists, more than anyone else, show us that the world is full of (often unexpected) meaning, and that the things surrounding us are not always what they seem. Their choices are thoughtful, and their interventions are precise.

As always, this exhibition too is a moment in time, halted for a while. Together with curator Samuel Saelemakers the artists have created a sensuous space in which their work, their thinking, and their vision come to the fore. Conceived of as a landscape, the exhibition holds a number of individual pieces, and is broadened by a horizon of other objects collected by the group.

This group show is a part of the fourth edition of STRT Kit, an international program supporting emerging visual artists based in Antwerp. Organized by Studio Start with the financial support of the city of Antwerp and the Flemish Governement, in collaboration with Kunsthal Extra City, AIR Antwerpen and H ART magazine.