Eucalyptus: Guy Mees / Johanna von Monkiewitsch

For the occasion of this duo exhibition 'Eucalyptus' with Guy Mees (b.1935, Mechelen – d. 2003, Antwerp), Johanna von Monkiewitsch (b.1979, Rome, lives and works in Cologne) made a selection from Guy Mees' archive. In this exceptional way of relating contemporary with avant-garde history, both practices are re-framed and enlivened. In paper and references to light, the exhibition invites absorption in different temporalities, places and registers.

Johanna von Monkiewitsch takes the colorite and choreography of light, which she registers and releases in different media. She lets light create the image, as you see here. A pigment print of a folded paper is folded and framed. A photo of a previously empty frame, the passe- partout cardboard coloured by light in ‘Tel Aviv’, ‘Cologne’, and ‘Jaffa’. In the concrete works, titled to time like ’09.03.2024 / 12:07’, the shadow that once fell over the cast edge was captured with pigment. Caught transposed, or real-time reflected light situations.

Guy Mees uses colour, texture and spatial experience to deconstruct images. Elements of painting, sculpture, photography, works on paper and performance— if you need a medium to tie his practice to, it is best to tie all these in. Some of his iconic ‘Lost Space’ works seem two- dimensional, but hover over the wall. The strips show traces of having been nailed into the wall before, and his large sheets drink the daylight. Soft sunny washes or bright silk paper, metal paper, pastel and pencil on paper. ‘Eucalyptus’, ’Spring Morning’, ‘Nightfall during Spring’.