Sleeping Beauties

SLEEPING BEAUTIES

09 September - 13 November 2011
Kasteel van Gaasbeek, Brussels (BE)

Sleeping Beauties at Gaasbeek Castle ... This exhibition, which runs from 9 September through 13 November 2011, uses the castle as a metaphor. Indeed, as a historical house, it is a ‘sleeping beauty’ of sorts in its own right, a dream machine in which time seems to come to a standstill.

Nothing happens unless first we dream.

(Carl Sandburg)

Sleeping Beauties

wants to be more than a predictable collection of sleeping beauties. The exhibition leads the visitor into a dream world ‘down the rabbit hole’. It displays a selection of works of contemporary art from the past thirty years that was specifically inspired by sleep and dream. In keeping with the philosophy of Gaasbeek Castle, the works by big names and upcoming talent alike interact with the romantic castle interiors. We meet sleeping characters and poetic daydreamers, as well as mysterious silhouettes and haunting nightmares.

Visitors are immersed into a surreal atmosphere inspired by the blue hour. They enter an intermediate world that floats between day and night, between awake and asleep – a world in which reality, fake and dreams appear real, where time slows down and becomes almost tangible.

At the same time, a number of castle rooms feature a historical sleeping scene which comments on and counters the current exhibition from a strategic location. This creates a second thread which runs parallel to the main storyline, much like residue from the past, or a ‘hidden persuader’ as it were.

A few artists: Michael Borremans, Sophie Calle, David Claerbout, Desirée Dolron, Lily Dujourie, Ann Veronica Janssen, Hans Op de Beeck, Andres Serrano, Spencer Tunick, Bill Viola, …

09 September - 13 November 2011
Kasteel van Gaasbeek, Brussels (BE)