‘Trompe l’oeil’ is the first solo exhibition of atelier lachaert dhanis at Gallery FUMI, London
Gallery FUMI presents Trompe l’oeil, Sofie Lachaert & Luc d’Hanis’ first solo exhibition with the gallery.
Unveiling works that move effortlessly from art to design, the show draws on the artists’ uniquely recognisable aesthetics, praised for their ability to deconstruct existing assumptions and challenge our perceptions and expectations, ultimately redefining the relationship between viewer and object.
Masterfully appropriating the language of trompe l’oeil, Lachaert & d’Hanis engage in the vernacular of discarded and trash material, joining leftover wood sections and semi- precious stone segments, debris of today’s consumer culture, into enigmatic functional assemblages. The wood pieces disguise their humble nature through a bronze cast, cleverly patinated to deceive the viewer, while the roughly hewn surface texture of the stone works betrays the intrinsically valuable quality of the medium.
At once, striking in their compositional minimalism and captivating in their appearance, the works playfully demand participation, enticing the audience into an ever-changing dialectic of reality and illusion. Whilst their form seems to celebrate their functionality, freezing it in timeless bronze and stone, the works may be equally regarded as contemporary relics, poised in a tightrope balance of profound solidity and inescapable transience. Again with their eclectic output, the artists resort to semi-precious stones and gems, turning them into wall brooches, a commentary on the stereotypical clichés traditionally associated with jewellery.
Exhibited together for the first time, these works, characterised by the primacy of their visual appeal and potent semiotic symbolism, offer a lyrical exposition of Lachaert & d’Hanis’ profoundly poetic body of work.
---------------------------------
Sofie Lachaert & Luc D'hanis (atelier lachaert dhanis)
Having graduated from KASK (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) and HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) Antwerp, Sofie Lachaert & Luc d’Hanis create work ranging from fine art to design and site specific installations, ultimately seeking to investigate the boundaries between each practice. They have been collaborating now for over 20 years on an intriguing oeuvre involving objects, furniture and situation-oriented installations whereby the boundaries between applied art, craft and design are both questioned and crossed. Each project is a joint endeavor; each work the result of the symbiosis between these two designers. ‘Sharing’ is the thread which runs through their work: from one chair for two people, jewellery with a double use, a two-part bottle, coins with an extra value… to a secret invitation to share a bed. Both their jewellery and objects, and their installations and furniture interrogate the boundaries between design and the visual arts. With small, subtle interventions Luc and Sofie give everyday objects a new significance.
The artists’ work has been shown internationally and has featured in major group exhibitions held, most notably, at Grand-Hornu, Belgium, Design Museum Ghent, Milan Design Week, Museum of Fine Arts Taipei, Maison des Arts, Bruxelles, and Ljubljana Architecture & Design Museum. Amongst their most ambitious projects are commissions for museum and theatre scenography for prestigious institutions such as Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Design Museum Ghent and the Print Room at The Coronet, London.
Sofie Lachaert & Luc D'hanis
Trompe L'Oeil
04 May — 23 June 2018
GALLERY FUMI
2 Hay Hill,
Mayfair, W1J 6AS
London
