Dany Vandenbossche

Arts and Industry

This is not our first attempt at bridging the gap between two seemingly opposite worlds: arts and industry. You would be amazed at how closely related they are. Take for instance The Sequence, the monumental piece of art by Arne Quinze that will continue to embellish the entrance to the Flemish Parliament until 2014. The wooden sculpture of course reflects an artistic message, but also echoes what the wood industry is trying to tell us.
When the European Panel Federation (EPF) organised an event revolving around The Sequence in 2010, their aim was to draw the attention of policymakers, the press and the general public to the value of sustainable wood use. The giant construction was built outside the Flemish Parliament in 2008 in the context of the 'Festival of Politics', an event held every five years in the Flemish Parliament. The wooden installation will eventually be deconstructed in 2014 and will be completely recycled and reused. It is the artist telling us to use wood carefully. The event received significant coverage in the local and foreign press.

This collaboration between the arts and the wood industry proved to be useful in getting the wood industry's message across to policy makers but also to the general public. Not only to create more general ecological awareness, but also to draw attention to the benefits of a more sustainable use of wood, not only for the sake of the wood industry itself, but for society in general.
That is how the idea was conceived by CEI-Bois and EPF, the federations that unite the wood industry in Europe, to repeat the political-economic message to the European policymakers, and again by means of an art exhibition. A fresh way of communicating, which allows the message to appeal to an even wider audience.
We searched and found 5 renowned European artists who use wood as a basic material for their art, but also lend it an everlasting value. For the overall concept of the exhibition, we turned to Pièce Montée, experts at developing design concepts for exhibitions and museums, to help us create an environment that allows the two worlds to blend together seamlessly.
It was not our intention to present an exhaustive selection of artists. We would have liked to have more works on display, but the limited space obliged us to carry out a thorough selection. The five selected works by five artists each carry the message the European wood industry wants to convey.
It is probably hard to imagine the amount of discussion and the countless meetings preceding an event like this. But we got there in the end and we are very proud of this catalogue, which also reflects both worlds. That of the visual arts, where economic factors can no longer be ignored, and the European wood industry, which wants to draw attention to the threats faced by this sector, which represents hundreds of companies and tens of thousands of employees in the European community.
The European Parliament will host this original initiative, thanks to MEP Mr Gaston Franco. Five artists will display their work in a scenography that does not bear any resemblance to a traditional stand in a fair, but is conceived as a true artistic setting, with equal space for art and economics.
It seemed only logical that Arne Quinze's work would be part of this exhibition. When The Sequence was built on the Leuvenseweg in Brussels, the Flemish Parliament decided to purchase the scale model of the work, in order to have a lasting reminder of the work. The Flemish Parliament was kind enough to loan it to Tackle climate change: use wood. Plant a second forest. Our thanks goes to the Speaker of the Flemish Parliament, Mr Jan Peumans and to Mr John Thielemans, who is in charge of the Parliament's amazing art collection.
Richard Long was another obvious choice. The sculptor, painter and photographer was born in Bristol in 1945 and is one of the best known British land artists, known for his use of natural materials, including wood. A famous example is Driftwood Line (1977), made up of driftwood gathered on one of his long walks, and 'recycled' into an impressive statement. In 1989 Richard Long won the prestigious Turner Prize, the most important British visual arts prize awarded by the Tate Gallery in London. This work is part of the collection of the Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art (S.M.A.K.) in Ghent (Belgium). We express thanks to Mr Philippe Van Cauteren, Artistic Director and to Ms Odelinde Van Thieghem, Collection Care Manager of the museum, which is one of the leading museums in Europe and houses an impressive representative collection of contemporary art.
Who else to open our exhibition than Mr Jan Hoet, honorary curator of S.M.A.K. and responsible for its impressive contemporary art collection, and honorary director of MARTa in Herford (Germany). As a result of his role in European contemporary art, Mr Hoet received several important awards in Belgium, but also in France and Germany. We are grateful to him for his contribution to this initiative and for his help with obtaining Suicide d'objets (2001) by French artist Philippe Ramette (Auxerre, 1961), which is on display in the exhibition. Mr Ramette started his career as a sculptor and gained international acclaim with his surreal gravity-defying photographs.
We also welcome German artist Stephan Balkenhol (Fritzlar, 1957), who is internationally renowned for his roughly carved and painted sculptures. Typical of his work is that sculptures and pedestals are carved from the same piece of wood. Even though the sculptures are painted in the end, he sees to it that the original material remains visible. The work on display at the European Parliament is Weiblicher Akt (2012), which is on loan from the Deweer Art Gallery (Belgium). We are especially grateful to Jo Coucke for his support and co-operation. Which reminds us of the fact that art galleries are the perfect example of how art and daily economic reality go hand in hand.
Another welcome guest at the exhibition is Romanian artist Dumitru Gorzo (Ieud, 1975), his work is on loan from the Slag Contemporary Gallery (New York, US), but we are also grateful for the help and support of the Gallery Mie Lefever (Destelbergen, Belgium), which specialises in Romanian art. Mr Gorzo is a typical example of a contemporary artist who re-introduced traditional Romanian wood craft into contemporary art. The work on display is Different Perspective, oil on carved linden.
It goes without saying that an event like this could never be possible without the help and co-operation of institutions and galleries, to which we express our profound gratitude. The collaboration with all parties involved did not always run as smoothly, which made this 'mixed' initiative all the more interesting. Fitting the issues expressed by the woodworking sector into an exhibition setting, proved to be a true challenge. The application of wood in the construction industry is explained by means of video displays, which is one example of how we have tried to integrate their concerns into the artistic design of the exhibition. Let us not forget that they provided the financing for this project, for which we express our gratitude to EPF and CEI-Bois. It was especially pleasant to work with the erudite President of EPF, Mr Ladislaus Döry. A special thanks goes out to Mr Kris Wijnendaele, Secretary General of EPF, for launching this initiative and to Mr Filip De Jaeger, Secretary General of CEI-Bois. Finally we also thank Mr Karel de Gucht, European Commissioner for Trade, for officially opening the exhibition. Incidentally, Mr De Gucht is the perfect example of how one person can combine a love of art with a profound interest in trade and industry.
Our hope is that this unique collaboration between visual arts on the one hand and the woodworking sector on the other, gets the acclaim it deserves. With this event, we call attention to an industry that will play an important role in tomorrow's Europe, not only with regard to employment, but also to a sustainable economic development. The production of sustainable materials and industries that respect the world's ecology are vital in today's society.
As curator of this exhibition, I hope we have succeeded in blending the two worlds together, without making too many concessions on either side. In order to provide wider access to the exhibition, we have created the website www.plantasecondforest.eu, as physical access to the premises of the European Parliament can be quite an undertaking for 'ordinary' visitors.
Perhaps the exhibition will contribute to a better understanding of the main concerns of the European wood industry, which has everything it needs to play an even greater part in the creation of a better living environment in Europe.