Meyboom
Brussels Drawing Week
6 October › 8 October 2023 ◇ Studio of the artists residency
As part of Art on Paper and the Brussels Drawing Week, Agathe Bokanowski presents her charcoal drawings, an extension of the Bois de la Cambre, at the residence of the Villa Empain.
Meyboom, the title of the exhibition, refers to a celebration, the oldest tradition in Brussels, whereby on 9 August at dawn a young beech tree is taken from the Bois de la Cambre to be replanted at a specific point in the city. The title therefore refers to a Brussels ‘mythology’, but above all to a tradition that is still very much alive, and to the vast presence of the landscape in today’s urban space.
The ritual of the Meyboom, literally ‘the tree of May’, resonated particularly with her.
Her exhibition is an invitation to rediscover this tradition, and the way in which trees are harvested for replanting, using drawing as a tool.
Through drawings of ferns, foliage and beech groves, the studio opens up a new space and tells the story of the wood behind its walls, its cycles, its festivals and the return of spring.
Agathe Bukanowski (France, 1980) is a painter and illustrator. Using photographs shot during her travels, her artworks betray a strong awareness of the inhabited places she visits and that progressively become personal. By reviving the stories told in her charcoal landscapes, the artist evokes personal experiences with atmospheres reminiscent of the places we all know. Lingering memories and images emerge in her process. Gradually, a gulf opens between the immediacy of photography and the slowness of the artist’s gesture, suggesting a pause, a slowing of time.
Brussels Drawing Week celebrates the vitality and diversity of drawing through a rich and varied program in the heart of Brussels. Launched at the initiative and in the frame of the Art on Paper fair, the Brussels Drawing Week allows a broad Brussels and international audience to (re)discover drawing, its history, its actors and its practices during an intense week of programming. From 5 to 8 October, the Brussels Drawing Week will bring together various events such as guided tours, workshops, conferences, meetings, exhibitions and performances.
Agathe Bukanowski (France, 1980) is a painter and illustrator. Using photographs shot during her travels, her artworks betray a strong awareness of the inhabited places she visits and that progressively become personal. By reviving the stories told in her charcoal landscapes, the artist evokes personal experiences with atmospheres reminiscent of the places we all know. Lingering memories and images emerge in her process. Gradually, a gulf opens between the immediacy of photography and the slowness of the artist’s gesture, suggesting a pause, a slowing of time.
Brussels Drawing Week celebrates the vitality and diversity of drawing through a rich and varied program in the heart of Brussels. Launched at the initiative and in the frame of the Art on Paper fair, the Brussels Drawing Week allows a broad Brussels and international audience to (re)discover drawing, its history, its actors and its practices during an intense week of programming. From 5 to 8 October, the Brussels Drawing Week will bring together various events such as guided tours, workshops, conferences, meetings, exhibitions and performances.
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