Michel Draguet – författare

Taking an approach that is equal parts anthropological and art historical, this lavishly illustrated volume offers a rare look at the art, artifacts, and culture of the Naga people, an ethnic group spanning several tribes native to northeastern India and northwestern Myanmar.  The book seeks to shed light on this geographically isolated and historically insular people, identifying cultural aspects and artistic traditions that are common among all Naga tribes, as well as ways in which the tribes differ.  The works featured include textiles, baskets, wood carving, pottery, metalwork, jewelry, and beadwork, and make use of a wide range of materials such as glass, stone, metal, wood, shell, seeds, bone, and hair.  Archival photography is used to place clothing, accessories, and ornaments within the cultural practices of the Naga.  Distributed for Mercatorfonds

A comprehensive look at an important member of the artistic vanguard of late 19th- and early 20th-century EuropeIn this beautifully illustrated book, Michel Draguet, an internationally recognized authority on fin-de-siècle art, offers an enlightening examination of the life and art of Belgian Symbolist painter Fernand Khnopff (1858–1921). Khnopff achieved widespread acclaim during his lifetime for his moody, dreamlike paintings, as well as his numerous commissioned portraits, designs for costumes and sets for the theater and opera, photography, sculpture, book illustrations, and writings. Khnopff was a reclusive personality, and in 1900 he focused his attention on the design and construction of a lavish, secluded home and studio in Brussels, a structure that became deeply entwined with the artist’s work and sense of self. Although the house was demolished in 1936, Draguet uses new archival research to reconstruct its spaces and explore the home as emblematic of the artist, guiding the reader through Khnopff’s very personal world and analyzing his art in the context of its generative surroundings.Distributed for Mercatorfonds

The question of the portrait in the exploration of signs of the times, the dead body in a classical presentation of pictorial inspiration, the abstract space of the studio and the artist's recent immersion in the city, violence in the relationship with the other on the path from procreation to creation, poverty and its relation to place, religious feeling and the collective dynamics of the group portrait are some of the subjects Andres Serrano addresses. The questions he poses give rise to debate and sometimes violence. These freely chosen subjects are thus joined by themes imposed on the work, namely vandalism and censorship. Four experts develop an original discourse on Serrano's work: Nathalie Dietschy, PhD in art history at the University of Lausanne, a specialist on the figure of Christ in contemporary art; Jan Koenot, Jesuit, theologian, PhD in philosophy and specialist on contemporary art; Germano Celant, art critic and specialist on contemporary art, currently artistic director of the Prada Foundation in Milan; Quentin Bajac, curator of photography at the Musée d'Orsay and currently chief curator of photography at the MoMA in New York.

Aboriginalities immerses you into the fascinating universe of Aboriginal painting — an art form that is both ancestral and contemporary, always rooted in spirituality. Far more than a simple physical and sensory experience, Aboriginal art invites us to rethink our connection to the earth and the universe.As a window on the spiritual, Aboriginal art tells the story of the creation of the world ‐ called "Dreamtime"* — and the original link between humans and the earth. The numerous motifs (dotted lines, spirals, zigzags, crosshatching...) are passed down from generation to generation by members of the same community, concealing centuries‐old secrets as well as a map of their territory. This ancestral and highly symbolic art form was originally concealed: drawn in the sand or applied on rocks on territories forbidden to laypersons. But in the early 1970s, amidst struggles for the recognition of an Aboriginal identity, the Papunya Tula community translated their cultural practices and symbolic knowledge through paint. Using non‐traditional methods borrowed from Western culture (acrylics, brushes, cardboard and later canvas), the indigenous people of Australia found a modern way to express their cultural, political, social and economic struggles.Vibrant and colourful, the exhibition Aboriginalities is built around part of the private collection of Marie Philippson, who has been passionate about modern culture and Aboriginal art for over 20 years. The exhibition shows over 120 paintings and objects, reflecting the extraordinary formal inventiveness of Aboriginal artists. At several intersections throughout the exhibition, a dozen works from the RMFAB's modern art collection echo the subjects addressed by these "Dreamtime" artists, questioning our relationship to the visible and the invisible.