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You again

2021

Valérie Mannaerts

The softness of the black cotton collar contrasts with the cool, lacquered steel of the human figure in geometric costume. Valérie Mannaerts designed this sculpture for De Parade, an open-air exhibition in Knokke. She drew inspiration from costume designs by Pablo Picasso for the 1917 ballet The Parade.

© Valérie Mannaerts. Photo: Tom Cornille

Details

  • Plan number: M37
  • Zone: Human Nature
  • Title: You again
  • Creator: Valérie Mannaerts
  • Date: 2021
  • Material: metal, cotton, concrete
  • Acquisition: loan
  • Object number: MID.LB.BK.009304

In those tight, heavy cotton costumes, the dancers could barely move. The work of Russian artist Varvara Stepanova from the early 20th century is another important source of inspiration. The hybrid and contrary forms in the work of Picasso and Stepanova recur in this sculpture by Mannaerts.

Textile is traditionally associated with “feminine” art, metal with “masculine.” By combining with textile, Valérie Mannaerts breaks with the classical categories and perspectives. It is a welcome correction to the male perspective that is still dominant in the collection.

Valérie Mannaerts is a contemporary Belgian sculptor and painter. Using various materials, she creates unruly sculptures and paintings in which she explores the relationship between organic and inorganic forms. Individuality and freedom are recurring themes in her work.

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