Philippe Van Snick
©image: M HKA
1946 - 2019
Died in Brussels (BE), born in Ghent (BE).
Philippe Van Snick (1946 - 2019) makes work that is characterised by an extremely simple visual language, akin to minimalism, and the repeated use of the same colours: sometimes only using blue and black, the colours of day and night. Since 1980 Van Snick has been using his ten colours systematically: the primary colours red, yellow and blue, the secondary colours orange, green and purple, the non-colours white and black (representing the immaterial) and gold and silver (referring to materialism and material wealth, but following the occult tradition of Alchemy, as ‘inert’ or ‘pure’ metals. In addition, they proverbially signify ‘silence’ and ‘speech’. For Van Snick, colours have both mental and physical meaning.
Van Snick’s works are closely related to the notion of space and the physical experience of the viewer in a room. Van Snick uses a simple and clearly defined visual vocabulary consisting of conceptual photography, mathematics, fragile sculptures and his own palette of ten colours. With these and other decimal systems, he creates abstract worlds that are governed by bipolar fundamental forces. This bipolarity – the contrast between light and dark, colour and its absence, and smooth versus rough surface – is an important aspect in Van Snick’s entire oeuvre.
>Philippe Van Snick, James Lee Byars, Letter to Philippe Van Snick, 1969.Letter, sheets of white paper, 2 x (21 x 16.5 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, Ping-Pong, 1972.Photography, ink, paper (b/w photographs), 12 x (18 x 24 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, Tennis, 1973.Photography, 4 zwart-wit foto's op glanzend barietpapier met lijntekening in alcoholstift, 18 x 24 cm (49 x 61 (framed)).
>Philippe Van Snick, Richtingen, 1974.Photography, 4 zwart-wit foto's op glanzend barietpapier, 8 x 24 cm (58 x 42.5 cm (framed)).
>Philippe Van Snick, Lavabo, 1975.Photography, 12 zwart-wit foto's op hoogglanzend barietpapier, 18 x 24 cm (30 x 323 cm (framed)).
>Philippe Van Snick, (0-9) punten in de ruimte, 1979.Installation, (0-9) dots in space.
>Philippe Van Snick, 1.5.10, 1979.Painting, gouache on paper, 50 x (42 x 29.7 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, (0-9) Kleuren en Cijfercode [Colours and Numerical Code], 1983.Installation, pigment, multiplex, 10 x (100 x 120 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, 10 dagen - 10 nachten, 1985.Poster, vinyl, canvas, cardboard, 20 x (24 x 18 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, J. Beuys en M. Broodthaers, 1986.Poster, paper, watercolor, photocopies, 40 x 415 cm.
>Lieven A.M. Baeyens , Philippe Van Snick, Wilfried Huet, GA - Tijdschrift van de Galerij van de Akademie Van Waasmunster, Jrg.6, nr.1, januari 1987, 1987.Periodical, ink, paper, 57.7 x 41.7 cm, 2 p., ill., language : Dutch, publisher : Galerij van de Akademie Van Waasmunster.
>Philippe Van Snick, Produktiestaat [Production State], 1988.Installation, plaster board, wood cubes, variable dimensions.
>Philippe Van Snick, Dag en Nacht Blokken , 1990.Installation, mdf, vinyl and acrylic , Each 21 x 21 x 9 cm .
>Philippe Van Snick, Pans de Sensation, 2005-2007.Print, ink, paper, 25 x (59.5 x 41.5 cm).
>Philippe Van Snick, Grand Territorium, 2011.Sculpture, wood, chalk, 130 x 130 x 380 cm.
>Philippe Van Snick, Untitled, 2011.Drawing, graphite, paper, 225 x 150 cm.
>Philippe Van Snick, Eilanden, 2016.Installation.
>Philippe Van Snick, Zonder titel [Untitled], 2017.Painting, canvas, acryl, vinyl, 104 x 115 cm.
>Philippe Van Snick, Ping-Pong Revisited, 2017.Poster.
Exhibitions & Ensembles
> Exhibition: A NON-U-MENTAL HISTORY OF M HKA – Part 1: Foundation Gordon Matta-Clark. 02 May 2021 - 29 August 2021.
> Exhibition: EXTRA MUROS: Geel – Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna. 15 September 2018 - 04 November 2018.
> Exhibition: From Broodthaers to Braeckman – Photography in the Visual Arts in Belgium. 06 October 2016 - 05 February 2017.
> Exhibition: Hommage à Bernd Lohaus. 20 January 2011.
> Exhibition: James Lee Byars: The Perfect Kiss. 05 October 2018 - 20 January 2019.
> Exhibition: Ping Pong – Philippe Van Snick. 16 September 2017 - 07 January 2018.
> Exhibition: Salon de Peinture. 17 January 2019 - 31 March 2019.
> Exhibition: The collection and a selection of gifts and loans. 12 March 1988 - 05 June 1988.
> Exhibition: The collection XIII – LUZ (intervention and composition by Carla Arocha) – Winter 2005-06. 25 November 2005 - 12 November 2006.
> Exhibition: The collection XIV – Spring 2006. 25 February 2006 - 23 April 2006.
> Exhibition: The collection XVI – Attributen en Substantie. 25 August 2006 - 12 November 2006.
> Exhibition: The collection XX: Jubilee. Who's got the Big Picture?. 29 June 2007 - 18 November 2007.
> Exhibition: The collection XXVI – The Artefactum years. 10 September 2010 - 20 February 2011.
> Exhibition: The collection XXXII – Personality Test + The Book Lovers. 07 December 2012 - 21 April 2013.
> Exhibition: THE GAP – Abstract Art from Belgium. A Selection. Curator: Luc Tuymans. 30 January 2016 - 29 May 2016.
> Exhibition: Trouble Spot. Painting. 08 May 1999 - 22 August 1999.
> Exhibition: Urgent Conversations Athens - Antwerp. 31 October 2016 - 05 February 2017.
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> Ensemble: An Architecture for Art - Nel Aerts.
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> Ensemble: An Architecture for Art - Philippe Van Snick.
> Ensemble: Audiodescriptie - De Collectie.
> Ensemble: Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap.
> Ensemble: Middle Gate.
> Ensemble: NUCLEUS.
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> Ensemble: Production States.
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> Ensemble: Spiritual Form.
> Ensemble: SPIRITUALITEIT | SPIRITUALITY.
> Ensemble: Stichting Gordon Matta-Clark.