Maalderij Landegem 2026
Atemwende
When does reason give way to feeling? Or when does language, the vehicle of reason, fall short, leaving us as human beings cast back upon ourselves, in our purest state?
'Atemwende' a term coined by the poet Paul Celan, refers to the transformative moment between inhalation and exhalation. It is the moment in which the unspeakable, fragility, and life itself lie hidden.
The duo exhibition *Atemwende* by Kirsi Kempkes and Peter Schoutsen is characterized by a departure from reason. Each in their own way, yet through a sensitive dialogue between their respective works, the two artists give substance to this seemingly ephemeral moment. Mysterious, playful, melancholic, and associative.
However, reason and logic,taken for granted in our everyday experience, foster a sense of alienation here. Reason, in general, does not direct itself immediately toward objects of the sensory world, but rather toward the intellect (thought) in order to introduce system and unity into it. It generates concepts and ideas entirely independently.
However, the artists employ visual concepts rather than rational ones. Consequently, the works lead you into a surreal world where reason is transformed into a personal experience.
This sensitivity and fragility also translate into the materials both artists use here. In a setting defined by space, light, air, and stillness, this exhibition steals in quietly—like the turning point between an inhalation and an exhalation.