Renaissance
Jesse Willems & Babs Decruyenaere at Schönfeld Projects Antwerp

The two artists have known each other for a long time but have never exhibited together. Babs Decruyenaere collects stones, pieces of driftwood or various woods, shells and other finds from all over the world. A growing collection of natural materials and shapes. She uses them to make a variety of photograms and a host of compositions, structures and mobiles.

Babs Decruyenaere about her artistic practice: "I am attracted by raw landscapes, fascinated by stone and everything that the ocean spits out. What I find when I travel, I take with me to my studio. I had planned to leave this summer, but given the current circumstances, I stayed at home. So this will The abstraction of a trip that I will not make. The analogical photo prints, always made without camera and negative, are created with lights and shapes that refer to places I have been to in the past. I only use my memories and archives of materials found on previous trips".

Babs Decruyenaere about 'rebirth': "For me the title 'rebirth' does not refer to a rebirth in the literal sense, but to a search for another way of thinking and working. Over the years, I have built up an archive of stones, pieces of wood and other materials that I have examined under a magnifying glass in my studio. In the further analysis of these forms and structures - on the borderline of abstraction, graphic representations and formal compositions - I see links with Jesse's work".

What does Jesse Willems expect from this dialogue? "Some of our works complement each other very strongly, with a lot in common, while others confront each other. Even though they are very much in opposition, our works reinforce each other. I like the way Babs works. It is very tactile and often very fragile. The materials that make up her mobiles are so light that they dance continuously. When they are hung near my static works, they almost make them move. She has now also started working with pieces of plastic she had at home. These shapes and textures seem to emerge from nature in photograms. I also find that her photograms are becoming more and more abstract and simple. The work with what you have on hand and the search for minimalism, which I do a lot now, I find them in her work."