These three terms, closely related but each with their own meaning, allow us to think about space.To produce and organise space, to define it as a place. These terms each open up individually or in combination with each other a very rich semantic field, and are used to advantage by all sciences (including mathematics) for which they provide fertile avenues for reflection.

These terms designate a separation between spaces, thus creating distinct places. Whether they are considered as closed spaces, introspective or porous, there is contact with what is different or even the unknown. The proximity of the definite and the indefinite remains a recurring theme in the history of art and some of the works shown question the structure of the passage between two worlds: the outside world and our own world.

This exhibition aims to be an exploration of places. To understand and describe them, it can be helpful to make use of topology by employing, to paraphrase the philosopher Michel Serres, the notions of closed (in), open (outside), intervals (between), orientation and direction (towards, in front of, behind), extension (among), proximity and connection (near, on, against).

Richard Aldrich (°1975, USA) explores the way information is organised through the formal language of painting, how these paintings interact with each other and with our perception of our past.

Martin Barré (1924-1993, France) questioned the foundations of painting.This led him to concentrate on space and the dynamics between the depicted forms and the rectangular background, which he left mainly white.

Sam Francis (1923 - 1994, USA) has marked his practice, both in his abstract paintings as in his prints, by his interest for light and
color.

Marieta Chirulescu (°1974, Romania) reinterprets existing images, which she deconstructs into traces and shows placed in a frame.The boundaries between digital and printed images and paintings are continuously blurred in her practice.

Adam Henry (°1974, USA) works with the colors of the light spectrum painted layer upon layer. Mathematical progression and repetition of colors, with a variety of angles, allow a dynamic perception of the painting and the space it both shows and occupies.

Callum Innes (°1962, UK) has become known for his painting technique. Both in his oil paintings as his watercolours the artist partially removes the paint which he previously applied, thus centring his practice on the notions of addition and subtraction.

Jannis Schroeder (°1989, Germany) asks the viewer to engage with space to be able to attentively view his work. His paintings show one colour that is placed against white to the left and to the right, requiring a back and forth between attentive analysis of the details and the distance indispensable for the overall view.

Bernard Piffaretti (°1955, France) has been working according to the same principle since 1986. Each work is divided in two by a vertical line. One side is painted first by the artist, whereafter he copies the first side in the other side. Originality is here at the heart of the artist’s practice, expressed through the division of space.

Georges Vantongerloo (1886, Belgium - 1965) developed an interest in geometric proportions and mathematical formulas. First expressed through straight lines, he later also worked with curved lines to explore the language of abstraction.

Julia Rommel (°1980, USA) situates her practice between painting and relief. Her exploration of colour and lines reveal a construction of space, which becomes visible in the interaction between forms or through the treatment of the canvas.

Ignasi Aballí (°1958, Spain) offers a conceptual reflection on representation and perception of color, the void, transparence and
language.

Sachin Kaeley (°1982, UK) investigates in his paintings the boundaries between object and image, between two and three dimensions, between a technological and human source, challenging the perception of the viewer through an abstract language.

Joep van Liefland (°1966,The Netherlands) bases his practice on his fascination for VHS-tapes, which he expresses through installations, videos and silk-screens.The confrontation with the screen has led his practice to become more abstract, as show his silkscreens created with the three RGB colours, which are the light sources for screens.

Leon Vranken (°1975, Belgium) invites shape, presentation and meaning to slide continuously over each other like tectonic plates. With his spatial compositions the artist defies gravity, the viewer and the medium and disrupts direct visual recognisability by depriving everyday objects of their function.

Tauba Auerbach (°1981, USA) is inspired in her work by physics and mathematics, which help her to challenge visual and spatial perception until the limits of comprehension. She gives particular attention to the surface is a space.

Lieven De Boeck (°1971, Belgium) questions the universal and the individual, national and personal identity. Societal issues and personal stories are intrinsically connected in his practice, where he constantly crosses over what delimits and defines.