Young Luxembourgish Artists return with fifth edition at BIL headquarters

The initiative aims to help young artists transition from their studies into professional practice, and for the past four years the annual exhibition has offered audiences a chance to encounter new and diverse works. This year's edition features nine newcomers working across a wide range of media.

According to Young Luxembourgish Artists founder Lou Philipps, this is the first year the team launched an open call to select artists, with the intention of representing a balanced mix of mediums. She explained that the exhibition includes photography, sculpture, several installation pieces, painting, drawing and, for the first time, kinetic art.

Kinetic art focuses on actual or perceived movement. This year, it is represented through the installations of artist Nika Schmitt, whose works animate movement through electrical currents. Schmitt described her pieces as two ignition needles connected to a mechanism similar to a music box, made up of two rotating components. When the elements move close enough to each other, a spark appears between them, with the timing and duration of each flash changing slightly every time.

Alongside the nine new artists, the exhibition also includes two returning participants in a dedicated Focus Section. Philipps explained that this part of the show is designed to reconnect with artists exhibited in previous years and highlight how their practice has evolved. This year, the section features works by Franky Hoscheid and Xavier Karger.

When Hoscheid last took part, his work leaned towards abstraction. In contrast, his contributions this year are more figurative. He explained that he often uses photographic references, isolating scenes he finds compelling and repainting the figures while inventing new faces for them, a process through which he is still refining his personal style.

The exhibition at BIL runs until 23 January.

Watch the full report (in Luxembourgish)