Date
04/12/2009
-
17/01/2010
In 2008 Jef Geys was awarded the Provincial Prize of Plastic Arts as the pinnacle of his career. As a result, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the M HKA and the Province op Antwerp co-organised an exhibition that focused on Geys' Villa Wintermans-project.
The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp had already invited Jef Geys for an exhibition once before. The flamboyant artist replied to the invitation by suggesting to just blow up the museum. Nearly 30 years later the museum, that luckily has not been destroyed, displayed the sequel of Geys' project for the 21st Biennale of São Paulo.
Reinterpretation
In the favelas, the slums of the Brazilian city Geys constructed a replica of Villa Wintermans, the only modernist reference in Balen, his hometown. The artist opened up his copy of the villa to the inhabitants of the slums. In 2006 Inge Godelaine made a beautiful film in which she tries to find out what happened to the echo of Villa Wintermans in São Paulo. With his exhibition for the Provincial Prize, Jef Geys focused on Godelaine's contribution to his project. She interpreted his work, he reinterpreted hers.
The exhibition was accompanied by a book in which Geys focuses on Godelaine's documentary film once again.
Jef
Geys. Prijs provant 2008. Villa Wintermans - Film 2006: Inge Godelaine
Provincie Antwerpen / Departement Cultuur, 324 p. €30
