Finis Terrae

13 locations in Antwerp

17/11/2022 – 26/02/2023

Gallery Geukens & De Vil

Five years after the Ecce Homo exhibition, Gallery Geukens & De Vil is organizing a new exhibition entitled Finis Terrae. While people were central in the previous edition, our planet is the theme in this one.

Cape Finisterre in Spain represented the end of the empire for the Romans: their Finis Terrae. Today we know that this is certainly not the end of the world and we are even going beyond the boundaries of the Earth in discovering space. Yet borders are being eroded: the climate crisis, the refugee crisis and COVID-19 are some of the examples that make us reflect on the end of the world.

50 artists at 13 locations

50 Belgian artists (born or working here) were asked to work on this theme. No distinction was made between young and old, male or female, color or art discipline. You will discover work by Philip Aguire, Luc Tuymans and Otobong Nkanga in addition to Jeffe De Brabandere and Winnie Claessens.

In addition to the dialogues between the artists and art disciplines, the locations are also surprising and sometimes unique. The locations are open from Wednesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the end of February, with the following exceptions: the Heritage Library, which only opens at 1 p.m., and Ackermans en Van Haaren, which is closed on weekends. The two museums are already open at 10 am. Speaking of unique: above you see, for example, a photo in the Hortus Conclusus or the garden of the Sint-Joriskerk by Ronald van der Hilst.

Museum Plantin-Moretus and Snijders & Rockoxhouse

Two museums are also participating, in here the works of art from the exhibition are displayed between the works of the museum. A beautiful dialogue is created. For example Cindy Wrigt’s work on food waste in the Snijders & Rockox House or Sofie Muller’s still lifes or mushrooms in old display cabinets and in the garden of the Plantin-Moretus Museum. It’s just too much to mention. Nice element is that the first edition of Utopia can be seen in the Museum Plantin-Moretus!

Sisyphus in the garden of the cathedral

The garden of the cathedral is the most special location of the trail. This place can usually only be visited with a guide from the cathedral or during carillon concerts. You can’t just walk in, the door on the Groenplaats side (next to the Leonidas shop) opens every half hour. From Wednesday to Sunday, the door opens for the first time at 11 a.m., after that every half hour, with the last time at 4:30 p.m. This gives an extra charm to the visit, you are guided through corridors and stairs to a grassy area five meters above street level. If that’s not spectacular enough, Marius Ritiu placed a huge copper meteorite here. He emphasizes the fragility of our existence and his works are an invitation to humility. You can only be humble when you know that this meter-sized shape was brought here almost plate by plate and that 10 million hammer blows were made to achieve the finish.

Fire in an old chapel

I kept the best for last. For me personally, the greatest emotional impact came from David Claerbout’s artwork in the Sint Niklaaskapel in the Lange Nieuwstraat. Formerly a puppet theater, this 600-year-old chapel was a junkyard when the gallery rediscovered it. All the clutter is gone and all that is left is a large screen and a few wooden benches. Take your time and watch the whole video, just above 20 minutes. Best time is when it is a bit darker so that you are completely sucked into the work ‘Wildfire (meditation on fire)’.

Would you like a guided tour of the artworks? There are morning, afternoon and full day tours. Ask my name as your preferred guide if you want to go with me. You can find the guided tours on the Finis Terrae site.