Axel Vervoordt Company is pleased to participate in the second edition of Frieze Viewing Room: Frieze Masters 2020 from 9–16 October, with two VIP days on 7–8 October. For the occasion, gallery director Boris Vervoordt has curated a selection of art and objects and installed them in his historic home in the centre of Antwerp, Belgium, for the fair's duration.
We're constantly seeking inspiration from timeless works of art. In this new digital landscape, the physical experience with art is so important. It's a unique privilege to present at a fair, and at the same time, to be able to experience the physical presence of these fantastic objects in the intimate environment I know well. That daily interaction with every work creates insight and understanding that we'll pass along to art lovers, collectors, and clients of Frieze.
The Frieze Masters 2020 selection includes antiquities from ancient Egypt, Rome, and Ecuador, along with a wide range of works of major artists from the European and Asian Post-War art movements: Kazuo Shiraga, Anish Kapoor, Yves Klein, Günther Uecker, Gotthard Graubner, Norio Imai, Per Kirkeby, Jef Verheyen, Takis, Yun Hyong-keun, Ryuji Tanaka, Roman Opalka, Yuko Nasaka, Masatoshi Masanobu, and Ida Barbarigo.
Anish Kapoor's Untitled work from 1996 is one of the presentation's centerpieces. The work is a large disc with deep blue pigment that provides an imposing physical body to the abstract idea of the void. In the same way, Takis' Musicale from 1974, quite literally gives a voice to forces that otherwise elude our understanding. Both works provide the viewer with a sensory experience of 'the great unknown'.
Another highlight is an exceptionally large Egyptian alabaster vase from the Late Period (664—332 BC). 'It's a special piece', Vervoordt says, 'not only because of its size, purity, and character, but also because it once belonged to Jan Vlug, a Dutch interior designer whose signature eclectic style was a huge source of inspiration for both my father and myself. An article in Connaissance des Arts shows this vase in Jan Vlug's home back in 1972. Now, almost 50 years later, I can present it in my own home, which is very exciting', says Vervoordt.
Axel Vervoordt Gallery represents these artists: