From the stillness of a lily-specked pond to a nostalgic carousel perched on top of a spindly stand, Hans Op de Beeck’s latest works delve further into a realm of meditation and solitude. His forthcoming solo exhibition, Vanishing Point at Almine Rech, highlights his characteristically monochromatic sculptures, which he often coats in matte gray. Many are life-size, inviting viewers to stand quietly near a calm figure seated on a chaise lounge beside a fawn or peer into a framed seascape in which definition is only wrought by contrasts in light and shadow.
Scale, lifelike detail, and an array of objects, figures, and animals in different settings lend Op de Beeck’s sculptures a kind of wünderkammer quality when displayed together. Individually, the pieces read like muted curiosities or components of an unusual puzzle. There’s a sense that at any moment, especially in works like “Orrery (Loss),” the scene may whir into motion and transform into the full vibrancy of reality (one might recall the effect in The Wizard of Oz).
Without color, we’re drawn to the dimensionality and textures of reliefs and in-the-round objects, although the tableaux themselves remain enigmatic. We recognize familiar elements, but they seem out of place or in uncanny relationships. Op de Beeck prompts us to imagine how the scenes may have come to be and how they relate to the surroundings, including us. “His art does not explain—it suggests,” the gallery says.
The title of the show is derived from the artistic term “vanishing point,” which describes the effect where all lines converge in a perspective drawing and elements disappear into the distance. A statement says, “Op de Beeck uses it as a metaphor for those moments when the concrete and rational give way to something less tangible—memory, imagination, introspection, or the feeling of briefly slipping outside time.”
Vanishing Point opens on September 10 and continues through November 7 in Brussels. See more on the artist’s Instagram.
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