Wim Delvoye

About

Delvoye is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist whose work navigates the boundary between shocking and fascinating. His extensive practice combines fine-art forms such as drawing, sculpture and photography with experimental techniques, philosophical ideas, intriguing materials and craftsmanship.

The exhibition brings together works spanning nearly 20 years including laser-cut gothic steel sculptures, hand- carved and twisted tyres, embossed functional objects, photographs of marble floors installations made with salami and mortadella and tattooed pigskin works.

In a series of aluminium pieces, shovels, luxurious Rimowa suitcases and a Ferrari Testarossa are embossed by Iranian artisans. Each piece features a unique decoration with elaborate Middle Eastern designs, traditional patterns and imagery from Delvoye’s own work. The artist is currently restoring a series of Persian palaces in Kashan, Iran, which will be used as exhibition space.

Industrial machinery including a dump truck, cement truck and concrete mixer are combined with Gothic architecture in laser-cut stainless steel sculptures that feature intricate latticework. Car and truck tyres of different sizes are intricately embossed to create decorative relief sculptures. Polished and patinated bronze works are Delvoye’s interpretation of 19th-century sculpture and incorporate 3D versions of inkblot pictures from the Rorschach test, a projective personality assessment. 

Photographs of what at first seem to be marble mosaic floors are in fact photographs of marble-like installations made of slices of ham, salami and mortadella. A pair of slippers created from taxidermy rabbits (shown at the Louvre Paris in 2012), a Persian rug tailored in the form of a pig, and framed tattooed pigskins from the artist’s now ceased Art Farm are also on view.

Together, these works show Delvoye’s deep interest in reimagining everyday objects with a subtle sense of humour and unique ability to juxtapose the modern with the traditional.

Wim Delvoye (b. 1965, Wervik, Belgium) lives and works in Ghent, Belgium and Brighton, England. His work has been the subject of recent solo exhibitions at institutions and galleries worldwide including: Galerie Perrotin, New York, 2017; Musée Tinguely, Basel, 2017; Tehran Museum of Contemporary Art, Iran, 2016; Mudam, Luxemburg, 2016; DHC/Art, Montréal, 2016; Leila Heller Gallery, Dubai, 2015; Heydar Aliyev Center, Baku, 2015; Mimicry: Wim Delvoye at the Pushkin State Museum, Moscow, 2014; Galerie Perrotin, Hong Kong, 2013; Sperone Westwater, New York, 2013; Wim Delvoye au Louvre, Musée du Louvre, Paris, 2012; Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery, Sydney, 2012; Robilant + di Voena, London, 2011; MONA, Hobart, 2011; Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing, 2011; Knocking on Heaven’s Door, BOZAR, Brussels, 2010; Musée Rodin, Paris, 2010; Wim Delvoye: Torre, Guggenheim Collection, Venice, 2009; Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, 2008; Ernst Museum (Mucsarnok Nkft), Budapest, 2008; Cloaca 2000 - 2007, Casino Luxembourg, 2007; Cloaca Quattro, Xin Beijing Gallery, Beijing, 2007; Cloaca N° 5, Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 2006; Cloaca – New & Improved, The Power Plant, Toronto, 2004; “Cloaca – New and Improved”, New Museum, New York, 2002; Cloaca- New and Improved, Migros Museum, Zürich, 2001; “Cement Truck”, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, 2000; “CLOACA”, MuHKA, Antwerp, 2000; Open Air Museum Middelheim, Antwerp, 1996; Documenta IX, 1992; Sonnabend Gallery, New York, 1991; Castello di Rivoli, Torino, 1991. Work by the artist is represented in permanent collections internationally.