Gap in the Clouds: Museum Hof van Busleyden Mechelen

Gap in the Clouds, a solo exhibition of new and recent work by Ricardo Brey, is on view at the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen, Belgium.

The institution’s press release follows:

Through Gap in the Clouds Ricardo Brey makes a positive statement and gives a ray of hope in these turbulent times. Brey was inspired to create a series of introspective works after experiencing the pandemic and the race and gender equality protests. The new work is conscious of the past, but turns a brave face to the future.

Ricardo Brey’s first major solo exhibition in Belgium in seven years is the result of the many new works Brey made during the COVID19 pandemic. The title refers to the hope that people have to internalise during global, but also personal crises. Despite the grey on the horizon, it is important to look up and keep seeing and remembering the blue. The dominance of the colour blue is therefore also significant in this optimistic exhibition: Brey associates blue with the sky and the sea, two symbols of freedom and vastness.

In his work Ricardo Brey draws inspiration from the strength and depth of Afro-Cuban culture, from his personal recollections and from myths, legends and stories. In this exhibition the centrepiece is the Every Life is a Fire series: surprise and wonder evoked by a line of sealed boxes. Their opening is a ritual in itself, that focuses the mind on what is happening.

Unique to the display of Gap in the Clouds are the historical works from the museum's rich collection. Ricardo Brey reactivates these universal and timeless pieces by appropriating them and integrating them as part of newly composed works of art. In this way, independent of time and space, they acquire a new and temporary meaning in Gap in the Clouds.