Warp Art Platform
Apostelstraat 20
9100 Sint-Niklaas
Belgium
Hours: Thursday–Sunday 10am–6pm
www.warp-art.be
www.coupdeville.be
The exhibition Coup de ville and especially its subtitle, ‘Attracted by another level,’ fully alludes to the metaphor for flying and was presented to the participating artists as a catalyst for their imagination. The ‘other or higher level’ refers in the broad sense to the search for quality and ultimately leads to the question: ‘As an organization, how can we—today and in the future—meaningfully handle art and create a home for it?
People often associate quality with ‘big names.’ In Coup de ville this option did not form the basis for inviting the artists. The selection is based on the relationships with artists that have been developed over a longer period of time. Starting in 2007, this took shape through the organization of portfolio days, and since 2010 by means of its extended version: the international artists’ village. Coup de ville is an exhibition, but also a community of persons who intensively look for meaning in art.
One of the first artworks realised in this exhibition is the bridge by Adrien Tirtiaux and works a metaphor for our organisation and show. Tirtiaux, an architect by training, points out problematic situations and examines how the artist’s thinking relates to this. In spite of the fact that, according to the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss, the reasoning and the actions of the engineer and the tinkerer are strongly divergent: Both appear frequently geared to problem-solving. According to the same theory, artists combine both these thought processes and, following a set plan, resort to improvisation, making use of what is at hand or available.
WARP Contemporary Art Platform
Established in 2006 in Sint-Niklaas, the non-profit organisation WARP is dedicated to contemporary art and artists. On a regular basis lectures, debates, portfolio days with professional feedback, an artist village and exhibitions are organised.
Practical Info: Coup de ville
Coup de ville can be visited from 13 September till 13 October in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium. For more info: www.coupdeville.be or www.warp-art.be.
