All works of Steve Schepens (*1979, Ghent, Belgium) are entitled HORROR with additional number or subtitle. These include videos, performances, installations, graphic works, paintings and sculptures. For many works, used cardboard boxes are basic construction material. The invisible is as important as the visible in his oeuvre. Plaster, porcelain or bronze casts of cardboard boxes represent the non-sculpture, the void, the endless interpretational field when it becomes a solid opaque immanent object. It is an object which does not portray appearance, but content.
The series HORROR-Fences contains fences and barriers, both flat and three-dimensional. Exclusively cardboard in the start, now they are realized in stainless steel, glass, mirror or TL-lights. Independent of size, fragility or other factors they still function as insuperable obstacles. Schepens is interested in communication between the work and the viewer, and its reaction to various disruptive factors. Ghost-exhibitions, closed to public, performances inside of closed cardboard installations, solid casts of cardboard boxes and fences are his exploration tools.
For the HORROR 56 exhibition, at Baronian_Francey Gallery, Brussels, Steve Schepens presents three performances and a new stainless steel fence sculpture. The two performances are shown as video and a photograph of the action. The third performance is an action during the opening of the exhibition. The artist made a text based work as invitation to people with Tourette-syndrome. They are the only visitors who can see the exhibition.
Steve Schepens works with signs and icons of contemporary society. His oeuvre indicates the subjectivity, emptiness and fragility of these signs and thus the instability of seemingly stiff social systems, which causes to anxiety and HORROR of a contemporary man.
Steve Schepens also works as a curator as well as writes art and cultural criticism for various international magazines in collaboration with Dr. Ekaterina Rietz-Rakul. Recently their new book Contemporary Art Guide Berlin has been published.
Previous exhibitions include: BE-PART(BE), De Bond (BE), SMAK Museum (BE), Netwerk (BE); MARTa Museum (DE); Artnews (DE); The Residence Gallery (UK); brot.und spiele gallery (DE), De Brakke Grond (NL), CPAI Lisboa (PT), Volker Diehl Gallery (DE)
Future exhibitions include: Cosmoscow (RU), Baronian_Francey Galerie (BE), Plataforma Revolver (PT), Freies Museum (DE), De Vooruit (BE)
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Born in 1979, Ghent (BE)
Lives and works in Berlin (DE)
Education
1998–2002 Painting, Master Cum Laude, Academy of Fine Arts, Ghent (BE)
1995–1998 Fine Arts, Sint-Lucas, Ghent (BE)
Forthcoming exhibitions
2011
_ HORROR Book + DVD with performances 2002 – 2010 (BE-DE)
_ Elective Affinities (duo-exhibition) Freies Museum, Berlin (DE)
_ HORROR 62 (group-exhibition) curator: Astrid David (BE)
_ HORROR 65 (group-exhibition) curator: Johan Tahon, Vooruit, Gent (BE)
2010
_ HORROR 56 (duo-exhibition) Galerie Baronian_Francey, Brussels (BE)
_ HORROR 14 (group-exhibition) Schau Fenster, Berlin (DE)
_ HORROR 64 Cosmoscow art fair, Galerie Volker Diehl, Berlin/Moscow (RU)
_ Berlin Contemporary Art book by Dr. Ekaterina Rietz-Rakul and Steve
Schepens, ISBN 3941784072, presentation at Christian Ehrentraut Gallery,
Berlin (DE)
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2010
_HORROR 55 Galerie Van De Weghe, Antwerp (BE)
2009
_ HORROR 30 BE-Part, Waregem (BE)
_ HORROR 14 De Bond, Bruges (BE)
_ HORROR 44 Artist Book, design: Jan Mast&Steve Schepens, publisher:
_ De Bond, the city of Bruges in cooperation with BE-PART, Flemish
Community and West-Flemish Community (BE)
_ HORROR 32 brot.undspiele galerie, Berlin (DE)
2008
_ HORROR 46 curator: Paco Barragan, ArteLisboa artfair, Lisbon (PT)
_ HORROR 04.14.08 Performance Circa art fair, Puerto Rico (USA)
2007
_ HORROR 27 poster contribution, H ART magazine (BE)
_ HORROR 16 brot.undspiele galerie, Berlin (DE)
2006
_ HORROR 10 Salon, curator: Gery Van Tendeloo, Kortrijk (BE)
2005
_ HORROR C21 Colonie 21 residency program, curator: Philippe Van
Cauteren, SMAK (BE)
2003
_ STRATEGIES – Drongenhofkapel, Ghent (BE)
2001
_ Paintings and Drawings – St. Pietersabdij, Ghent (BE)
_ The battle for the strategist, Drawings - Mignon, Ghent (BE)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2010
_ Founder of the curatorial collective APES
_ VIEHL DOLKERS (group-exhibition) curators: APES, Galerie Volker Diehl,
Berlin (DE)
_ HORROR #12 LO10, curator: Els Gryspeerdt (BE)
_ HORROR 1.3 Sun-Light 2010, curator: Christa Vyvey (BE)
_ HORRORCABINET 1 exhibition in Museum Bob Drake collection,
Rotterdam (NL)
2009
_ HORROR 14.2 CPAI, Lisbon (PT)
_ HORROR 58 Artstrom, Thyssen-Bornemisza, curators: Mark Gisbourne and
Henrick Sundström, Berlin (DE)
_ HORROR 57 curator: Jan Van Woensel, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam (NL)
_ HORROR 7 curator: Jan Van Woensel, Scalamata Gallery, Biennale di
Venezia (IT)
_ THRILLER 1 + HORROR 14 Galerie Van De Weghe, Antwerp (BE)
_ HORROR Works ́03 – ́09 curated by Galerie Van De Weghe, Arte
Santander art fair, section representing Belgium (ES)
2008
_ HORROR paintings Space Other gallery, Boston (USA)
_ HORROR 29 Hipodromo 610, Puerto Rico (USA)
_ HORRORCABINET 2 brot.undspiele galerie, Circa Artfair 08, Puerto Rico
(USA)
_HORROR PublicAppearance Performance, New York City (USA)
2007
_ HORROR CABINET 1 brot.undspiele galerie, Scope art fair, Miami (USA)
_ HORROR drawings brot.undspiele galerie, Berlin (DE)
_ HORROR 18 brot.undspiele galerie, Scope art fair, Basel (CH)
2006
_ HORROR 15 curator: Jan Hoet, MARTa Museum, Herford (DE)
_ HORROR 8 curator: Paul Lagring, CC Netwerk, Aalst (BE)
_ HORROR 13 Contemporary Art Award Flanders (BE)
_ HORROR 9 curator: Philippe Van Cauteren, SMAK (BE)
2005
_ HORROR 7 ART INFO LOUNGE, Lineart artfair, Ghent (BE)
_ HORROR 5 DISORIENTATION Time Festival, St. Baafs plein, Ghent (BE)
_ HORROR 2 KRAAK 3 FESTIVAL, CC België, Hasselt (BE)
_ HORROR 3 ENTERTAIN_US, curators: Tanguy Eeckhout, Alan Quireyns,
et.al , Museum of Fine Arts, St. Niklaas (BE)
2004
_ HORROR 1 FASTFORWARD, curator: Robin Boone, Helix-vzw, Ghent (BE)
_ HORROR SCIENCE FICTION RUSH, curator: Angelique Campens
Oudenaarde (BE)
_ HORROR #1 + #2 + #3 (the horror-fences) JOY*JOIE*VREUGD, curator:
Angelique Campens, Zingem (BE)
2003
_ HORROR#1 + HORRORBANNERS GRAND TOUR, MSK, Ghent (BE)
2002
_ Paintings COMING PEOPLE, curator: Jan Hoet, SMAK, Ghent (BE)
_ Paintings OUT, St. Amandsberg, Ghent (BE)
2001
_ IN POSITION Artifex, Ghent (BE)