“I’m interested in the idea that a work can be almost invisible until it catches your eye, after which it becomes almost hyper visible and establishes an encounter: you could walk past without noticing it, but it creates an experience when you do” - Ann Veronica Janssens
Ann Veronica Janssens, the renowned Belgian artist, will be presenting her first solo museum exhibition in China at the M WOODS Museum, Beijing. The exhibition, entitled pinkyellowblue, is curated by Victor Wang as a meditative journey through Janssens’ 40-year career of colour and light in motion, a survey exhibition that will feature a selection of Janssens' luminous and sensorial works, inviting viewers to enter an immersive spectrum, where colour and light combine to expand the senses and stimulate perception.
Janssens’ art resonates with both Eastern philosophy and the opulent harmonies of color and light utilized in artistic movements such as Op Art, Minimalism, and Light and Space, which emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.These movements, which examined sensory and perceptual experiences through optical illusions and the manipulation of perception, find echoes in Janssens' use of light and space as mediums in themselves. In the context of China, the artist's practice also finds synergy with the philosophical traditions of East Asia, particularly Buddhism, where different hues of colour are believed to align with distinct mental states or qualities.
This survey exhibition, which comprises of key works from her 40-year career, was planned with the artist and curator over several years and is constructed as a series of experiential encounters and ‘sensory modalities’ that highlight fundamental ideas and concepts that Janssens has been exploring throughout her career. Forming the core of this exhibition as an immersive body of colour are several of the artist's most iconic works, such as: pinkyellowblue (2015-2023), and a new Beijing version of Janssens’ celebrated glitter sculptures. These artworks demonstrate Janssens' exploration of the dematerialisation of sculpture, unbounded by material or form. pinkyellowblue is an immersive installation that uses light and color to create a sensory and perceptual experience for the viewer. The work consists of a single space infused with hues of bold and bright colour and fog. As the viewer moves through the spaces, the colors blend and shift, creating a sense of movement and transformation: a journey of the mind and body through colour and space. Untitled (silver glitter) is another ethereal work that uses dispersed glitter to create a sea of silver colour and light on the floor. As the glitter is released into the gallery, it dances and swirls with the air upon impact, creating a floor sculpture in the space. Like pinkyellowblue, this work highlights Janssens' exploration of the “instability of material”, as it focuses on the sensory and experiential aspects of the work rather than physical form.
The exhibition, planned to coincide with the summer solstice, is structured as a journey into the expanded realm of sculpture. It offers a transcendental experience that uses colour and light as a primary gateway for understanding Janssens’ investigation into ‘soft sculpture’. It brings together key works that highlight the artist's approach to making art that examines sculpture through an interdisciplinary field.
For the first time in Beijing, key works that consider this relationship between the viewer, the museum, and light such as Hot Pink Turquoise (2006) and Red 106 Blue 132 (2003-2023) are displayed. In these works, Janssens blends continuous fields of light with the museum's architecture to produce unique spaces that absorb the viewer in spectrums of colour. Enhancing both the visual and experiential nature of these works in the galleries, filling each room with soft, coral and cerulean hues of light, creating a sense of warmth and temporary tranquillity.
We invite audiences to consider the limits of their own perception through Janssens' art, and to explore how the artist complicates our understanding between the material and the immaterial in art. The sensory experiences created by the artist's use of light and colour, plus the transition to summer in Beijing, will leave a lasting impression on the viewer, proposing a deeper level of engagement with the work, and to further consider the relationship between our feelings and our observance of reality. Do not miss the chance to have your perceptions challenged and your mind expanded by the immersive, experiential art of Ann Veronica Janssens.
