VIEWING ROOM

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HANS OP DE BEECK PRESENTS "LOCATION (6)"

‘Location (6)’ is a monumental, immersive, panoramic installation. A vast snowbound landscape, the work updates the tradition of the painted panorama, a form of popular spectacle with its roots in the eighteenth century. However, in contrast to these earlier forms, Op de Beeck’s installation does not aim to entertain or inculcate. Instead, the artist uses the infinity of the perspective as a means of drawing the viewer’s eye inward, to the contemplative self.

Traditional panoramas combine a three-dimensional foreground with a painted background. ‘Location (6)’, however, is made up entirely of a sculpted trompe l’oeil landscape, with artificial fog and light. The spectator can view the landscape from a central observatory that is reached via a long, narrow corridor. From a seated position, the visitor looks at the scene through the panoramic window: a vast snowy expanse with bare trees and frozen puddles. The landscape, the observatory, and its interior are all white.

‘Location (6)’ was part of Hans Op de Beeck’s solo show ‘Staging Silence’ at Galleria Continua in Beijing (2009) and had previously been on view at the Holland Festival (2008), the Singapore Biennale (2008) and Art Unlimited, Art Basel (2009).

Mario Cristiani, partner of Galleria Continua, talks about the work of Hans Op de Beeck.