Justine Frank (1900-1943): A Retrospective, Roee Rosen

Justine Frank (1900-1943): A Retrospective, Roee Rosen

Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerpen

Justine Frank
from The Stained Portfolio (51)
1927–1928
Courtesy: Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv

January 5, 2009

Justine Frank (1900-1943): A Retrospective
Roee Rosen

9 January – 8 March 2009

Opening and book launch:
Thursday, January 8, 2009 / at 19.00.

Curator: Hila Peleg
Tulpstraat 79,
2060 Antwerp, Belgium

www.extracity.org

Extra City presents the first-ever European retrospective of the work of Jewish-Belgian Surrealist and pornographer Justine Frank; this work has not been exhibited in Belgium since her death in 1943. Frank was born in Antwerp, lived in Paris and died in Tel Aviv. Recent inquiries concerning her life, her ethics and her aesthetics continue to yield contradictory responses and create controversy. Frank was active during several crucial junctures of Twentieth Century culture, yet at each of those junctures she seems to have generated antagonism and confusion in those around her. Frank was a Surrealist during the movement’s most radical phase, yet even within that audacious circle they had a problem stomaching her artistic concoction of explicit erotic imagery and Jewish iconography.

The current exhibition contextualizes a large selection of Frank’s paintings by including the cinematic portrait Two Women and a Man (2005), directed by the artist and writer who played a major role in Frank’s recent revival from obscurity, Roee Rosen.

This exhibition will be accompanied by the release of the English version of Roee Rosen’s book Sweet Sweat, published by Sternberg Press (Berlin, NY) and co-produced by Extra City. Sweet Sweat is the title of Justine Frank’s only book, a scandalous novel, now forgotten, written in French in 1931. This edition of the book also contains Frank’s biography as well as extensive commentary on the historical and cultural contexts of the novel.

“What are you doing after the orgy?” Jean Baudrillard once perversely asked. I would answer: “Just read Roee Rosen.” Rosen came after the orgy, and he knows it. With Sweet Sweat, he is bringing in for a last call all the erotic avant-gardes of the West. But he can only do it with a vengeance – by writing himself into the picture. Erudite, baroque, dazzling, maniacal, and all-encompassing in his approach, Rosen keeps erasing the fine line that separates fiction and truth, imagination and reality, just as Sade and Lautréamont have done before him. But he is also keenly aware that this division doesn’t exist anymore and that all one can do is hallucinate over its existence. What makes his summa erotica erotic is that for him, as for Georges Bataille, pornography is philosophy. – Sylvère Lotringer

Roee Rosen is an artist, writer and lecturer; he was born in Israel in 1963, where he currently lives and works.

A public presentation by Roee Rosen will take place on Saturday, February 14, at 18.00.

The project is supported by the Brandes Family Art Collection, Rosenfeld Gallery, Tel Aviv, and the Israeli Embassy in Belgium.

Extra City benefits the support of: Vlaamse Ministerie van Cultuur, Jeugd en Sport, Stad Antwerpen, (H)ART, Klara, Bureau Bouwtechniek, Mampaey, Jaga, Zumtobel, Levis, Koning Boudewijnstichting.

Extra City

Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday 14.00 – 19.00
/ Thursday 14.00 – 20.00
Closed on public holidays. Guided tours for groups and schools on request.
Press contact: katrien.reist@extracity.org – T +32 3 677 16 55

Advertisement
RSVP
RSVP for Justine Frank (1900-1943): A Retrospective, Roee Rosen
Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerpen
January 5, 2009

Thank you for your RSVP.

Kunsthal Extra City, Antwerpen will be in touch.

Subscribe

e-flux announcements are emailed press releases for art exhibitions from all over the world.

Agenda delivers news from galleries, art spaces, and publications, while Criticism publishes reviews of exhibitions and books.

Architecture announcements cover current architecture and design projects, symposia, exhibitions, and publications from all over the world.

Film announcements are newsletters about screenings, film festivals, and exhibitions of moving image.

Education announces academic employment opportunities, calls for applications, symposia, publications, exhibitions, and educational programs.

Sign up to receive information about events organized by e-flux at e-flux Screening Room, Bar Laika, or elsewhere.

I have read e-flux’s privacy policy and agree that e-flux may send me announcements to the email address entered above and that my data will be processed for this purpose in accordance with e-flux’s privacy policy*

Thank you for your interest in e-flux. Check your inbox to confirm your subscription.