Le Sacre de la Matière is a new group exhibition featuring Jörg Bräuer, Sébastien Caporusso, Anne Derasse, Kaspar Hamacher, Silvano Magnone & Fabian von Spreckelsen. Expo by Spazio Nobile takes place at the Ancienne Nonciature, 4-25 March 2020, Rue des Sablons, 7 B-1000 Brussels.
A new era begins for the l’Ancienne Nonciature
The Ancienne Nonciature is an iconic heritage site, emblematic of an era when it played host to the Vatican embassy in Brussels, as the residence of Cardinal Pecci, the Apostolic Nuncio who later became Pope Leo XIII. Starting in March 2020, the building will become a quintessential meeting place for Belgian contemporary art and design. Owner, interior designer and art historian, Anne Derasse will open the doors of her superb Brussels residence, in the heart of the capital, as a “new embassy of art and culture”. With its ambiance preserved, the Ancienne Nonciature offers a respectful aesthetic of the past, a beautiful texture and quality of space and of light, and for several years already has hosted largescale exhibitions.
In line with the programming for spring, Spazio Nobile will hold there its first ‘hors les murs’ exhibition, coinciding with Collectible Design Fair and TEFAF Maastricht, inaugurating a biannual season. The “genius loci” is revealed immediately: the colonnade of the coach entrance and its monumental stairway leading from the ground floor, the longitudinal openings and vistas of the successive rooms, the whole of the interior and exterior volumes redesigned by Anne Derasse are majestic and incarnate her gestures and thoughts. As she emphasises, “Times change, but messages persist.” With its somewhat enigmatic presence, the Ancienne Nonciature invites the visitor to an initiatory walk through a place of remembrance, rich in emotion.
The courage and perseverance of Anne Derasse in restoring the site, coupled with the artistic vision of her companion Jörg Bräuer, led them in quest of a new, contemporary and unique identity for the site, through the hosting of carefully chosen art exhibitions. At their invitation, Lise Coirier and Gian Giuseppe Simeone, founders of Spazio Nobile and both art historians, like Anne Derasse herself, are joining the fray. Their first exhibition is stamped with their shared philosophy and culture: of the authenticity of materials, of the craft of design, of the nobility of natural materials beautifully patinated by time. While the Ancienne Nonciature had its moment of glory as a sacred site and the representation of the splendour of the Church, it has certainly experienced a few disruptions in its centuries-long journey to us. Rekindling its living flame, with an openness to creation, Spazio Nobile is bringing together six designers, including our hosts, Anne Derasse and Jörg Bräuer, along with Kaspar Hamacher, Fabian von Spreckelsen, Silvano Magnone and Sébastien Caporusso, around the theme “Le Sacre de la Matière”.
The wood – solid, monoxyle, sculpted and burned of Germanophone Belgian Kaspar Hamacher, who gives life and nobility to the essences of oak, beach and the Douglas pine of his region of the East Cantons, joins forces with the creations of his German friend Fabian von Spreckelsen, who works not far from him, near Aubel.
The latter’s animal sculptures in Corten steel, left to rust in the open air, and his experiments with the erosion of metal by fire, combined with his tables on which tanned skins are left in their raw state, oiled and waxed like Hamacher’s solid wood, have a strong and energising presence. Harmonising with the aesthetic of the “Werkstatters” -partners since their studies at the Maastricht Academy -, Anne Derasse has already placed several beautiful pieces from these two designers in her recent worksite at the Chateau Calon Ségur in France. This is the opportunity for her to finally produce, after 30 years of design, some of her solid oak furniture and benches in elegant braided leather, which she regularly creates within the universe of her projects. Sébastien Caporusso joins the group of designers with the eclecticism and grace of his poetic combinations of stone and marble, wood, brass and leather. The shared quest for minerality and the alchemy of beautiful materials with elegant, sincere and organic forms is omnipresent. The photographs and paintings of Jörg Bräuer, whose solo show “Ansel der Zeit” will take place at the same time at Spazio Nobile through 8 March 2020, convey symbolic power to and beautiful vistas on new natural and cultural landscapes, both near and far. Finally, Italian Silvano Magnone uses the collodion process to reinforce the thickness of suspended time and the intimacy that abounds in photography as a visual arts medium. “Le Sacre de la Matière” echoes a notable Rite of Spring. It comprises the works of these six strong and free creators who relate to each other, each in their own way, together translating the vital energy of creation in the applied arts and contemporary artistic design.
About l’Ancienne Nonciature, Grand Sablon, Brussels, Belgium
With her company AANN (Architecture d’intérieur Arts & Patrimoine), Anne Derasse, owner of this exceptional and historic building across from the Church of Our Lady in Brussels’ Grand Sablon, took up the challenges of restoring and renovating it in order to revitalise its soul and its function, and to house her own offices. Anne Derasse splits her time between Belgium and France, where for more than 20 years she has been involved in restoring another heritage site, the chateau of Montmoreau, in southern Charentes, about 100 kilometres from Bordeaux. Her companion, artist Jörg Bräuer, has joined her in this adventure. Together, they are working to create a foundation for revitalising heritage restoration through carefully chosen artistic activities. The Ancienne Nonciature and the chateau of Montmoreau have thus become their field of activity and preferred terrain for celebrating art in all its forms.
More info: www.aann.be www.nonciature.com
