GEZICHTEN

‘GEZICHTEN’ is Dutch for ‘faces’ an exhibition of portraits, the title seems obvious. We look, we don’t see the air between us, we don’t see our own face ever and we forget what others looked like. Painting is about time, how to stop time and live forever in a framed moment.

About fifteen years ago Yoko decided she wanted to become a painter, she left Japan and came to study in Antwerp. It’s where we met, she has a decidedly different use of colour and style and her work called out to me. Over the years Yoko painted in Japan, her exhibitions increased and so did mine as I did the same on this side of the world. One of the hardest things to do as a painter is not to stop: to keep painting, while you need to live as well.

Yoko painted the dialogue, a response to my portrait. This exhibition is about what happens between people, it can be a gap, cold air or love and friendship, but it’s never just a portrait. We can all see the background, but it’s the foreground that unites us.  

Eline De Clercq

Yoko Enoki  lives and works in Kanagawa Japan 2002 - 2006  studied painting in Antwerp

yokoenoki.com

Eline De Clercq  lives and works in Antwerp Belgium 1997 - 2001 studied painting in Gent

elinedeclercq.com