M HKA, Herzele

Under the umbrella term Visite, the M HKA - in collaboration with LOCUS, the nerve centre for libraries, cultural and community centres and local cultural policy - organizes exhibitions outside the museum on a regular basis. It is the M HKA’s wont to break down the museum walls and encourage dialogue. Visite is more than a loan: the move of the works of the M HKA to the smaller towns is a reason for cultural professionals and local authorities to develop a vision on contemporary art.

From 04.26.2015 to 04.04.20105, a number of key works from the M HKA collection moved to Herzele. Based on the uniqueness of both the works from the M HKA collection, and the various locations of the exhibition, a concept grew that originated in the relevance and significance of the artworks. Contemporary art can be poignant, repellent, sensory or philosophical, but is, above all, an invitation to engage in communication.

With art, which is first and foremost a means of communication, words are obvious, but not always in the first instance. The first impression precedes words and interpretation. "What we feel about a work is often difficult to clearly describe, it is ‘beyond words’. This was, in fact, seized as the title of the exhibition: Voor(bij) woorden (Beyond Words).

The campaign was conducted on the basis of a work by Léa Lublin, where she explored what art can be through questions. It is art with words, but also with question marks. Words attract new words and show us how they often fail. The source, namely art itself, both precedes this and goes beyond it.

The exhibition Voor(bij) woorden brought together work by Vyacheslav Akhunov, Martin Arnold, Richard Baquié, Charif Benhelima, Fred Bervoets, Vaast Colson, Leo Copers, Luc Deleu, Marlene Dumas, Jef Geys, Mona Hatoum, Philip Huyghe, Ann Veronica Janssens, Léa Lublin, Danny Matthys, Bruce Nauman, Hans Op de Beeck, Ria Pacquée, Walter Swennen, Sven t’ Jolle, Christophe Terlinden, Ana Torfs, Koen van den Broek, Paul Van Hoeydonck, Ben Vautier, Franz West, Michael Witlatschil and Bill Woodrow.

Beyond words was compiled by Annick Borloo, Ann Bracke, Karen De Bliek, Trui De Vos, Jan Hermans, Katrien Hijsselinckx, Annemarie Menschaert, Nadine Raes, Christel Stalpaert, David Tanghe, Hilde Van Canneyt, Emma Van De Wiele, Griet Verhoeven and Jennifer Vrielinck.