Pol Piérart

The Liège artist Pol Piérart is honoured at the Palais Curtius between 10 March and 30 April 2016. Pol Piérart studied decorative painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Liège; he then became interested in photography. Since 1979, he has exhibited in numerous Belgian and overseas museums and galleries, most notably at the Rencontres Internationales de la Photographie in Arles (2002) and the Galerie Bernard Bouche in Paris (2002); he also presented a film at the Venice Biennial of Art (2011).
In his photographic work – black-and-white and small-format photographs (such as postcards or souvenir photos in a frame) – a word, words or a small sentence, which are written in capital letters on white paper, are introduced to a landscape painting or still-life compositions. These words reinforce the image and the image reinforces the words, so that the combination tells a story or allows for a two-tiered interpretation.

In his paintings – which are occasionally very large formats – the word is the main subject of the work and stands out against a relatively neutral background. We say relatively, because it is not a solid monochromatic colour, but very subtle shades that exist in the same range of colours: the overlapping of layers makes the material very clear, yet light. The word on the canvas generally has two meanings, thanks to his work on the image: one or two letters, or even a part of a letter, are replaced, hidden or added; in this way, the meaning becomes quite different. It seems simple, direct and obvious, but this duality of meaning makes us think and awakens our consciousness.