Ricardo Brey (born in the Cuban capital, Havana, in 1955) is an exceptional artist and person with an international reputation and an extremely varied oeuvre. Since 1991 he has lived and worked in Ghent, not far from the renowned altarpiece by Jan Van Eyck. Brey started his career in the mid-1970s and has since constantly reinvented himself as an artist. His work focuses on themes such as the relationship between nature and culture and he takes a purist view in his use of the language of materials and objects. He approaches a space from a position of total freedom and tries to make it into a place for interaction.
Brey has created some substantial solo exhibitions and has also taken part in several major international events such as Documenta IX in Kassel (1992) and biennales in Sao Paulo, Havana and Venice. In 1997 he was awarded the Flemish Prize for the Visual Arts. The exhibition RICARDO BREY Fuel to the fire for the first time presents a complete and large-scale overview of Ricardo Brey’s oeuvre, which encompasses both a historical vision and a focus on contemporary meaning. This retrospective includes work from several of his periods of creation, from the early 1980s until the present, and includes sculptures, drawings and installations.
EXTRA MUROS The exhibition is to be held at M HKA and two other venues in Antwerp:
Universe
Koninklijk Atheneum, Antwerp
AthenA Room
Franklin Rooseveltplaats 11
2060 Antwerp
Every Life is a Fire
St Paul’s Church
High Altar Veemarkt 14
2000 Antwerp
Curator: Bart De Baere
This exhibition was made possible with the support of the Nathalie Obadia Gallery (Paris-Brussels), the Tanit Gallery (Munich-Beirut), St Paul’s Church (Antwerp), Koninklijk Atheneum (Antwerp), S.M.A.K. (Ghent).
