The Grund's Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery highlights work from 7 different artists.
A new exhibition has opened in the Grund in the Zidoun-Bossuyt Gallery, curated by the Japanese artist Tomokazu Matsuyama.
The artist's work is being displayed alongside works by Wim Delvoye, Carlos Rolón, Robert Lazzarini, Jayson Musson and Alison Elisabeth Taylor. All of the artists have their own unique style, but complement each other.
The exhibition, Pardon My Language, focuses on the shifting nature of identity in the 20th and 21st centuries, and how our perception of identity has altered with globalisation. In terms of its significance in the art community, the exhibition is drawing away from the monetisation of art and emphasising its social and cultural dimensions.
Matsuyama particularly wants his work to portray historical and new traditions, and how cultures fuse together. To this end he absorbs inspiration from other artists and combines them into his art.
Tomokazu Matsuyama
There is also a biographical dimension. Currently based in New York, he fuses together a traditional Japanese background with images of models from New York magazines. Matsuyama is intentionally jarring - in the above painting he incorporates a traditional Japanese background with props such as Budweiser cans and chips.
One of the other featured artists, Jayson Musson, draws on his African-American heritage. His techniques incorporate fabric painting. Musson, also known by the moniker Hennessy Youngman, sources sweaters from the brand Coogi and pulls them apart to restitch them into abstract pieces. The importance of these knits lies in their association with rappers in the 80s and 90s - a status symbol in the black community.
The emphasis on heritage and fusing cultural traditions with new aspects of life is one that is of increasing importance in society today. In a world that is more globalised, boundaries of citizenship and identity blur. The exhibition showcases how these individual artists explore their own cultural identities.
Matsuyama was already a fan of the other artists showcased in the exhibition and is thrilled that their work will be presented together.
The exhibition is running until 3 March.
