Stief desmet

Boys of Summer #1, 200x200

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Boys of Summer #2, 200x200

Monument for a Goat #1, #2, #3, 55x40x80

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Goatdancer, 100x140

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IMAGINE, AN ISLAND

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IMAGINE, AN ISLAND KOEN LEEMANS

Tout le malheur des hommes vient d’une seule chose, qui est de ne pas savoir demeurer en repos dans une chambre.

- Blaise Pascal, Pensées, Divertissement Stief Desmet takes Blaise Pascal’s thought to heart and he keeps working from home. In the exhibition Imagine, an Island, in De Garage in Mechelen, however, the artist’s escapism is very prominent.

Desmet’s starting point for this exhibition is In Search of the Miraculous, a performance by the Dutch conceptual artist, Bas Jan Ader. In 1975, when he was 33 years old, Ader set off on his own in a little yacht to cross the Atlantic Ocean. But he got lost and some ten months later, the empty boat was found near the Irish coast. Desmet, starting from the assumption that Ader had survived, uses this action as an alibi to travel round the world in his studio, like an explorer.

In his mind, he leaves his familiar and beloved Lys region and goes on a exploratory expedition to more exotic places.

Stief Desmet regularly works with images that, months or even years later, rekindle the possibility of another image. He hoards images until they act as catalysts for yet other images, be it a work of art, a

Errachidia, 70x90 - Kapenguria, 80x100

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Warriors (Serengeti), 125x165

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Silvio, le premier navigateur, 2015 80 x 60 cm collage on 19th century etching

Warriors (Serebgeti), 2015 125 x 165 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

Kapenguria, 2014 80 x 100 cm oil on canvas

Errachidia, 2015 70 x 90 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

Pirates #2, 2015 200 x 200 cm acrylics on canvas

Warrior (Kombai), 2015 100 x 140 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

The Colonists, 2015 140 x 140 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

Tallaringa (Snakeman), 2014 80 x 130 cm oil on canvas

Imagine, an Island, 2015 200 x 400 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

Monument for audubon, 2010-2014 60 x 15 x 15 cm china, polyester

Radiant palm (Dubai), 2015 60 x 70 cm oil on canvas

Trouble in paradise #2, 2015 2 parts of 60,5 x 80,5 cm acrylics on paper

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Cabin #1, 2015 60,5 x 80,5 cm acrylics on paper

Cabin #2, 2015 60,5 x 80,5 cm acrylics on paper

Trouble in paradise #1, 2015 4 parts of 60,5 x 80,5 cm acrylics on paper

Blackdrippuma #2, 2013 150 x 130 x 140 cm table, polyester, mixed media

Osaka, 2015 100 x 140 cm acrylics, oil on canvas

In search of the miraculous (philadelphie) 40 collages on 19th century etchings of 32 x 22 cm

The second coming, 2013 37 x 32 x 65 cm plaster, porcelain‌

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COLOPHON / COLOFON

all artwork /alle afgebeelde kunstwerken: © Stief Desmet video 'The Wreck': © Stief Desmet, Christophe Vekeman, Rob Breyne video 'Pastorale #5': © Stief Desmet, Benny Vandendriessche photographs/foto's: all exhibition views and reproductions: © Kenneth De Vooght all other photographs: © Stief Desmet texts/teksten: Inge Braeckman Rutger De Reu Trui Galle Koen Leemans Bruno Roels Christophe Vekeman translation/vertaling: Martin Carrette Bruno Roels (The space between the screens, or why I'm jealous of painters)

special thanks to: Stadsbestuur Deinze, Stadsbestuur Mechelen, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen, Koen Leemans, Trui Galle, Wim Lammertijn, An Meirhaeghe, Jan Vermeulen, Rutger De Reu, Christophe Vekeman, Bruno Roels, Inge Braeckman, Gautier Platteau, Kenneth De Vooght, Lisa De Brouwere, Cosimo Di Leo Ricatto, Jona Tallieu, Olivier De Buck, Lili, CH-artspace Amsterdam, Rob Breyne, Benny Vandendriessche, Hans Baudoncq, Eric Goethals, Xavier Vandamme, Bas Jan Ader, Titus Vandenbroucke, Julie my beloved wife, Maurice & Lilou and all the collectors and friends who supported me through the years.

This book is published on the occasion of the exhibitions Once Upon a Golden River at the Museum of Deinze and the Leiestreek, Deinze, B. (13/6-27/9/2015) and Imagine, an Island at De Garage, Mechelen, B. (21/6-13/9/2015).

Dit boek is een uitgave ter gelegenheid van de tentoonstellingen Once Upon a Golden River in het Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek (13/6-27/9/2015) en Imagine, an Island in De Garage te Mechelen (21/6-13/9/2015).

This publication was made possible with the support of / deze publicatie werd mogelijk dankzij de steun van:

correction/correctie: Martin Lambert Marc Vingerhoedt graphic design/vormgeving: Lisa De Brouwere printing/druk: die Keure, Brugge binding/inbinding: Brepolis, Turnhout publishers/uitgevers: © Hannibal Publishing/Uitgeverij Hannibal, 2015 Museum van Deinze en de Leiestreek c.c. De Garage ISBN 978 94 9208 146 9 D/2015/11922/22 NUR 642 www.uitgeverijhannibal.be www.stiefdesmet.com All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, recording or any other information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publisher.

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