Dirk Van Saene, the Belgian fashion designer and artist, will present his solo exhibition with ceramic sculptures on 16.01.2021 in Gallery Sofie Van de Velde.

“The artworld has always been rather suspicious of any form that is purely visual, a form where beauty or emotion prevails. A form that is often referred to as ‘design’ or ‘decoration’. Yet, it is precisely this twilight zone that interests me. As an artist, my work has no functionality: it shows the human body, not in a direct context but rather as the notions of a human figure. At the same time, the emotions they depict are equally as important. My sculptures are the stage-managers of their own story. Not only with regard to their material, colors and shapes, but also in the historic value that they carry and that I assign to them.”

Even though Van Saene uses fabrics and textile, his artistic work has little to do with fashion. “My sculptures are niether mannequins, nor statues. They are characters, dressed by me. They question the idea of presentation modules, the use of vehicles. Both mannequins in the world of fashion as well as pedestals in the artworld are architectural objects. They take up space. But in this exhibition, they merely carry themselves. Each sculpture has its own aura, but always dependent on imagination and creativity.”

“The artworld uses different criteria than the world of fashion, something I like playing with. As a fashion designer, one needs an arsenal of various skills, but also a team of people, while as an artist and a sculptor, I experience total freedom. I can answer any question about medium, color or form myself, as there is a much closer and direct relationship with the medium.

Astrid Vereycken, 2020

Artists: Dirk Van Saene