Opening on Thursday 7 March from 6pm until 9pm.
Through WILT Guy Rubicon brings his latest work to Gallery Hioco Delany. Rubicon has previously exhibited in galleries in Denmark and Australia. For the first time, his work can be seen in his home country of
Belgium.
Animals have always been part of Guy Rubicon’s oeuvre. They are also at the forefront of his works for WILT. The self-taught painter deliberately distances himself from realism and uses colour and simplification to give his work a mythological undertone. The animals on the canvas are symbolic and carry spiritual significance. Rubicon is originally trained as a photographer and tattooist, a background that is in close connection with his current work. According to the artist, people tattoo animals to attribute the symbolic power of the animal to themselves. This awakens a connection between nature and man which Rubicon says we have lost, but is immensely valuable. This spiritual reading of the work shows not only Rubicon’s background as a tattoo-artist, but also his interest in immateriality. His past as a photographer is apparent through the snapshots Rubicon chooses as the basis of each work.
For his new exhibition, WILT, the artist worked with the theme of life and death. Besides literal references such as skulls, the artist also plays with scenes of confrontation. The result of a conflict accordingly ends in one’s victory and another one’s loss. There is therefore a certain primal barbarism in the series of works, depicted by animal fights or ambiguous figures on horseback, ready for attack. Engraved in the collective memory, the scenes are part of a rich art-historical and cinematic tradition: from cave drawing and medieval tapestries to the superhero movies his son watches today.
Another recurring element in WILT are sunflowers. The sunflower undergoes transformation not only in its creation, but also in its demise. This makes it the perfect symbol of the life cycle. The title of the exhibition directly refers to the wilted state of the flowers on the canvas. Rubicon documented the dramatic wilting of sunflowers he planted in his garden in photographs. The photographic work became a source of inspiration for the paintings on display.
For the first time, Rubicon uses cold wax in his work. The experiment brings a new dimension to Rubicon’s paintings and allows the artist to work more expressively and spontaneously. In the past, his work had a flat photographic style, attributable to his background. With WILT, Guy Rubicon shows the progression of his artistic practice, while reminding the viewer with mystical images that life and death, as well as confrontation, are part of the human condition.
Text by Jens Roothoofd
