Of gesture and time

Takesada Matsutani
Stream: the course of time

 Visual arts  Exhibition, performance

In the 1970s, Japanese artist Takesada Matsutani, who emerged from the Gutai movement, was best known for his paintings incorporating thick bulges, bubbles and folds of vinyl adhesive dripped on the canvas. With the Stream series, he adopted a new approach, embracing the philosophy of Zen: the infinite repetition of small pencil strokes on vast surfaces is like an act of contemplation that is very simple, yet remarkable in its persistence and ability to stretch time.

Takesada Matsutani was the subject of a major exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in 2019.

Ictus + Ula Sickle
Holding Present

 Dance, Music  Performance

A body joins another in motion. Another follows, and yet another. They build on each other. When do we perceive them as a multitude? 

Inspired visually, lyrically and sound-wise by protest, Holding Present, a new collaboration between choreographer Ula Sickle and Ictus, the Brussels contemporary music ensemble, examines how an individual act can become a powerful collective movement. Weaving a network of existing and newly-commissioned compositions, a group of eight performers (four musicians and four dancers) slowly builds up a movement, a momentum, as they work toward the breaking point where individuals become a critical mass. 

The performance also includes works by composers Alvin Lucier, Pauline Oliveros, Didem Coskunseven and Stellan Veloce, with the musical instruments of the artist Gert Aertsen. 

Performances – Friday, 16 to Sunday, 18 June 2023 – on reservation

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