Annie Gentils Gallery

Wesley Meuris casts a new glance at the current human condition and the multifaceted ways in which our daily lives are constantly being mediated by machines. Our perception of space has become increasingly technology-driven through the use of ingenious devices such as satellites, drones and robotic vehicles. Devices that testify to the human ingenuity, but that also put our place in the universe into perspective. Meuris’ abstract sculptures or architectural objects are visual echoes of the countless satellites that drift around in space, busily surveying planet Earth. It is clear that, apart from gaining scientific knowledge, there are also military-industrial, political and economic motives at play. Wesley Meuris addresses the uniqueness of the “vertical gaze” and the way it affects our view of both man and the world. In our upward gaze, we also project that which makes us human, all too human. Take, for instance, the way in which the cool, machine-like interior of space capsules has been adapted to suit domestic decorum. 

Meuris’ abstract visual vocabulary is rooted in that of Modernism, yet it simultaneously probes for a more human connection via seemingly trivial details such as loose cables and fragmented organisms. (Pieter Vermeulen, Wesley Meuris – Probes, Krieg, Hasselt, 2021)

 

Wesley Meuris (1977) is conducting visual research into the functioning of exhibition mechanisms and the production and presentation of scientific knowledge. In the past years, he has expanded his oeuvre to include a new chapter, which has previously led to the exhibition Verticality (Annie Gentils Galllery, 2020) and an eponymous publication (2021). Meuris studied Sculpture at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and attended the post-academic programme of the HISK in Antwerp. In 2017 he obtained a PhD in the arts at Sint Lucas Antwerp and the University of Antwerp. He is currently conducting postgraduate research and is a tutor in the Advanced Master at Sint Lucas Antwerp. Wesley Meuris’ work has been exhibited at SMAK in Ghent (2020), Centre Pompidou (2018), Musée des Arts Contemporains du Grand Hornu (2017), WIELS in Brussels (2017), Kunsthalle in Vienna (2016), Le Confort Moderne in Poitiers (2016), ISCP in Brooklyn (2016), Mu. ZEE in Ostend (2015), BF15 in Lyon (2014), Kunsthalle Rotterdam (2014), Casino Luxembourg forum d’art Contemporain (2012), M HKA in Antwerp (2010), De Bond in Bruges (2010), Fresnoy in Tourcoing (2010), MAMAC in Liège (2010), Art & Essai Galerie in Rennes (2010).