Rossicontemporary

“Refuge”- Louis De Cordier & David Quinn

DAVID QUINN ABOUT THE EXHIBITION TITLE

"When I think of refuge I think of the words of the Buddha 'Make an island of yourself, make yourself your refuge; there is no other refuge. Make truth your island, make truth your refuge; there is no other refuge.

DAVID QUINN ABOUT HIS WORK

'I see my work as an aid to meditation both in the making and in the viewing. I try to find a balance in each piece between fluidity and stability. They are the same size because repetition helps me to work on perfecting what I am doing and the less decision-making and thinking I have to do the better I am able to calm my mind. Finally they are all slightly different as 'you can't step in the same river twice'.

DAVID QUINN ABOUT THE DUO WITH LOUIS DE CORDIER

I was already in contact with Louis having come across his work on the internet which I found fascinating and I was very impressed by his commitment to his inspiring projects some of which are actual refuges he has created - refuges for bees, humans, seeds, knowledge and artefacts. For me his work represents the seeds of hope for a better future.

A few months later Francesco mentioned an artist he was going to visit in the Spanish Sierra Nevada and suggested that his work might work well alongside mine. When I realised it was Louis I was very excited at the prospect. It was a wonderful case of synchronicity. Louis and I have since been communicating by email and telephone and share many similar interests and concerns and I look forward to meeting him in person for the exhibition."

LOUIS DE CORDIER ABOUT THE EXHIBITION TITLE

Refuge. I am pretty familiar with it as many of my works are even called refuge, like my recent bee-refuge or my refuge project the « refugio sulay » situated high in the mountains here. Though have been so deeply into the refuge aspect / certainly since the pandemic (i didn’t leave the Alpujarra zone in since years) i have this growing desire for rather the aspect of expanding and growing outwardly too. The concept of a seed is also dear to me as it seems to contain both aspect of refuge (inwardly / put underground darkness / retreat) as well as the aspect of growth, life, the new.

LOUIS DE CORDIER ABOUT HIS DRAWINGS

They are some 26 selected (blackboard on paper type) drawings (30,5 X 45,5 cm) i made during the past months. Together with the blue menat sculpture and the collection of 3D metal plate

sculptures, I think it will give a lively presentation where i am at today with my work, world vision and cosmology after the past turbulent years. All of course with the eye of creating a harmonious resonance with david’s works.

LOUIS DE CORDIER ABOUT HIS METAL PLATES

In the past i made several series of golden rectangle based ’time pieces’, trying to cut out all forms of idolatry, figuration, & visual symbolism, and to distill a kind of universal language, cosmology. always from the idea of trying to leave my own (artistic) ego and walk the path of that what always was / will be.

For the exhibit at rossicontemporary i envision a small collection of metal plate 'time pieces’, in the range of 33X23 cm and 2,5 thick, continuing its concept in a less durable material time wise, than clay or gypsum, as it is corrosive, but way more hardy, transport and chock proof towards a radical future change where people might be living more a nomadic lifestyle in the digital information age.

The iron time plates will respond to the impending arrival of information-infused no-habitat spaces, made inevitable by technological progress and the outlook of rather a solar punk type of lifestyle, with a pronounced emphasis on sustainability, human impact on the environment, and addressing climate change and pollution.

LOUIS DE CORDIER ABOUT HIS MENAT SCULPTURE

Menat is a casted stone piece that found its origin in my fascination for ancient Egypt, and its mystery. Connecting us to the roots of our civilization. Menat isn’t just a sculpture, it is a massive magical Egyptian amulet. The beneficial use of amulets has been universal in all cultures from the cavemen, up until the present time, as it responds to a basic human need for protection. The Egyptian Menat amulet is known as an amplifier of the Universal Life Force. The work was made within the context of my Labyrinth of Egypt project, which I initiated back in 2008, with the organisation of my Mataha-Expedition at Hawara, in the Fayoum Oasis. When I first presented the Menat piece it was a blank stone canvas, as it is still standing in a warehouse in Belgium. For the exhibition at Rossicontemporary, I would like to paint it in advance, with an Egyptian blue, as all Menat amulets where colored throughout the many millienia this civilization existed. The act of painting, relates back to ancient times where the action of adding a colored substance onto a surface, or body, was related to renewal and rebirth.