cortier-gent-plus-core
On the 4th of October 2021, the Ghent based artist Amédée Cortier would have turned 100. An ideal opportunity to bring into focus the idiosyncratic work of a painter who is still underappreciated.
Some thirty-five works (paintings, reliefs, works on paper), spread over two rooms, reflect the evolution of Amédée Cortier's style. Cortier began his career as a figurative painter: in the 1940s he painted mainly landscapes, while in the 1950s still lifes and female portraits predominated. From the end of the fifties onwards, figurative pictorial elements were gradually replaced by geometric patterns, which evolved into his characteristic monochrome surfaces from the end of the sixties.
cortier-gent-plus-kern presents works that were exhibited during his lifetime in Ghent exhibition spaces as well as in international institutions. The works, mainly from private collections, not only show an evolution within the artist’s style, but also provide insight in the artist's career. This narrative is supported by fragments of historical art documentaries and a varied selection of archival material (newspaper cuttings, pictures, letters, invitations, etc.), gathered from numerous public and private archives such as the Plus-Kern archive (University Library Ghent), the Richard Foncke Gallery archive, the art archive (KASK, Ghent), the Vyncke-Van Eyck archive (MSK, Ghent).
cortier-gent-plus-kern was curated by Wouter De Vleeschouwer and Naninga Lens as part of Gent, speelveld van de beeldende kunst (1957-1987), a research project at the KASK & Conservatorium, Ghent, by Godart Bakkers, Koen Brams, Wouter De Vleeschouwer, Sofie Frederix and Naninga Lens.
As part of cortier-gent-plus-kern, the Roger Raveel Museum and KASK & Conservatorium Ghent will publish an illustrated catalogue taking a closer look at Cortier's life and work as well as the various exhibition spaces in Ghent where the artist exhibited. This publication will be presented to the public at a later date.
Alongside cortier-gent-plus-kern, the Museum of Deinze and the Leie region (mudel) is hosting the exhibition Amédée Cortier. Kleur een rand geven, from 9 October to 23 January 2022.