Exhibition: Looking For The Backside, Vol. 1
Tucker Neel
11 May - 10 August, 2024
Vernissage May 11, 18:00
Since their inception, encyclopedic museums of art and history have featured exhibitions of ancient Greek pottery. Crafted centuries ago, these terracotta artifacts were intended as three-dimensional objects, designed to be observed from all angles. However, in contemporary museums, they are often positioned with one side facing the back of a display case, obscuring half of their entirety from sight.
Tucker Neel finds this phenomenon fascinating because it illustrates how ideology functions through omission; what institutions choose to hide can say more about who they are than what they reveal. Neel has spent the past decade documenting ancient Greek pottery collections in museums around the world from his perspective, pressing his face against walls and cabinets to capture images with his smartphone in an effort to see each vase in its entirety.
During this process, he uncovered how museums conceal elements they wish to keep hidden. Frequently, vase arrangements favor men over women, heroes over ordinary individuals, figuration over decoration. Sexual or grotesque scenes are repeatedly left in shadows. Cracks and awkward restorations are obscured to make certain vases appear more artistically cohesive. Intact sections receive attention while their broken counterparts remain unseen.
These curatorial choices reflect which people, narratives, imagery, perspectives, and ideals museums prioritize. The preference for one side, one way of seeing over another, extends from the museum vitrine into the broader culture.
In Ogge’s project space, Neel seeks to highlight his findings through a digital slideshow documenting his attempt to photograph the back of every ancient vase in Greco-Roman wing of The Art and History Museum in Brussels, Belgium. In response to the hidden backside problem, he presents two reflective posters as proposals for a redesign of the collection, suggesting that museums could simply install mirrors to provide a better view.
The installation also features a replica Greek amphora Neel bought on eBay, painted in his studio in Los Angeles, and then shattered into pieces before transporting it in his luggage to Ogge, where he reassembled it using hot glue. Such an absurd activity recalls how important artifacts were - and are - taken, broken, transported, remade, and sold as part of a questionable global antiquities marketplace.
In another window, visitors can view Neel’s screen prints on both paper and reflective mylar of vases selected from The Brussels Art and History Museum’s online archive. Some prints include accompanying drawings, while others do not. These works celebrate the creative potential found in imperfection, highlighting how the empty spaces within ancient pottery prompt viewers to engage their imagination to visually complete each vase.
You can create your own artwork from Neel’s screenprint series by purchasing affordable prints on paper and/or mylar. Simply email ollyorneel@gmail.com or stop by Ogge and ring the doorbell.
View Exhibition Checklist Here
About Tucker Neel
Tucker Neel is an artist, writer, curator, and educator who lives and works in Los Angeles, CA. Neel’s practice investigates the apparatuses, actions, and contradictions that ideology renders invisible for allegiances to congeal and for truths to take hold. He holds an MFA from Otis College of Art and Design and a BA in Art History and Visual Arts from Occidental College. He has exhibited in venues such as The MAK Center for Art and Architecture, Samuel Freeman, Control Room, and various site-specific exhibitions and actions in public spaces. His work has been reviewed in Artforum, The Los Angeles Times, The L.A. Weekly, and Art Week. He is an Associate Professor in the Liberal Arts & Sciences and Graphic Design/Illustration departments at Otis College of Art & Design. He is also a contributing editor for Artillery Magazine. His writings and reviews have also appeared in publications such as X-Tra, ART LIES, Artpulse, and The Los Angeles Alternative Press. For more information, visit tuckerneel.com
Event: ‘Scharnaval Soumance’
McCloud Zicmuse and Koen Berghmans
9 March 2024
18:00 - 22:00
Scharnaval is finally happening 16 March 2024!
To prepare, we're organising a soumonce on 9 March. If you would like to join the Prince Zonder Carnaval group for Scharnaval or are simply curious, this soumonce is a great way to start. It is a time to practice songs, organise parade activities, prepare costumes, plan and most importantly: repair the Wanje Kaje piñata and decorate the Pleziertuig for the festivities.
Expect music, crafts, and a little chaos.
Event: Concert and Woodcut Theater
Fred Deltenre
& Eric Kinny
8:30 Music by Fred Deltenre
9:30 Woodcut theater by Eric Kinny
The performance is free, though donations for performers are welcome.
www.freddeltenre.be
https://santeloisirs.com/erickinnyhfn
Exhibition: POGGE FRIENDS
Curated by McCloud Zicmuse
October 8 - 22, 2022
Vernissage Oct. 8, 18:00
Finnisage Oct. 22, 18:00
Festival ‘Alles es Just!’
Expo Pogge Friends
a multifaceted group show
from 18:00 :music by Korneel Deprez
grog & lambiek
21:00 "happy fuji news" woodcut theater by Eric Kinny https://santeloisirs.com/erickinnyhfn
Beenhouwer, Blokske, Jacques de Zot, De Kromme Treene, Mammeke, Rei Van Hamme, Sinte Maclou, De Smet, Stropper, les deux Tischekes, Trienke, Wagne Kaje, De Zatlap, De Zotte Mey, Jean Parici…
These mysterious names, are not those of the artists invited, but, at the time, were the actual friends of Pogge. This group show is a series of imaginative interpretations of the faces behind the names.
Work by: Koen Berghmans, McCloud Zicmuse, Delphine Somers, Anne Brugni, Kosi Hidama, Edith Stefanato, Joana Estrela, Yue Ming, Daniel Wagener, Tina Schott, Gabriela Cachilapa, Molly Rodgveller, Korneel Deprez
(with photos below by Hadrien Duré and drawings by Pieter Fannes)
Event: Fee The Dead
Koen Berghmans
Saturday, 5 Nov 2022 at 14:00
and finding its way to les Marolles by 18:00
Starting here at Ogge on Place Pogge, Saturday, 5 Nov 2022, at 14:00 and finding its way to les Marolles by 18:00.
POGGE 2000: present visions of a future figure
Curated by McCloud Zicmuse
1 October - 4 November 2021
Vernissage 1 October
18:00 - 22:00
Finnisage 4 November
18:00 - 22:00
Exposition, info booth and Estaminet.
Part of ‘Alles es Just!’ festival, presented by Vrienden van Vrienden van Pogge
work by: Anastasia Bay, Anne Brugni, Natalia Barczyńska, Miku Enomoto, Yves Gobart, Kosi Hidama, Clément Jacques Vossen, Delphine Somers, Clémentine Vaultier, McCloud Zicmuse
200 JAAR/ANS POGGE!
Clément Jacques Vossen
17 & 18 July 2021
A street party in celebration of Pogge’s 200th birthday, which took place outside OGGE on Rue Verwée.
Organised by Alles es Just festival!
(with photos by Hadrien Duré)
About
Rue Verwée 26, 1030 Schaerbeek, Belgium
ollyorneel@gmail.com
(photo by Philippe Debroe)