DURING AN ARTIST RESIDENCY AT THE KUNSTHUIS YELLOW ART IN GEEL, IN THE PROVINCE OF ANTWERP, BÉATRICE DELCORDE MET DANNY SMOLDERS, WHOM SHE INVITED TO EXHIBIT HIS PAINTINGS.
KUNSTHUIS YELLOW ART IS AN ART CENTRE FOUNDED BY JAN HOET IN 2004.
FOR NEARLY TWENTY YEARS, DANNY SMOLDERS HAS BEEN PRODUCING A PROLIFIC BODY OF WORK COMPRISING DRAWINGS, PAINTINGS, COLLAGES AND POEMS. HIS WORKS EXPLORE A VARIETY OF THEMES, CLOSELY LINKED TO HIS PERSONAL EXPERIENCES AND BELIEFS, RANGING FROM THE HEROES OF THE 1980S TO ANCIENT FOLK LEGENDS SUCH AS THAT OF DYMPHNA. MOUNTAIN LANDSCAPES, WATERFALLS AND CASTLES – OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH POLLUTION, INDUSTRIAL SITES OR THE REMNANTS OF WAR – ARE JUST A FEW EXAMPLES OF WHAT HE DEPICTS. HIS FASCINATION WITH FEMININE BEAUTY IS ALSO A RECURRING THEME. IN HIS DRAWINGS, WOMEN APPEAR AS FIERCE WARRIOR WOMEN.
SINCE 2024, BÉATRICE HAS BEEN RESTORING THE DOCUMENTARY GEEL (1976), DIRECTED BY ANDRÉ VAN IN AND VINCENT BLANCHET. THIS FILM PAINTS A PORTRAIT OF FOSTER FAMILIES WHO, SINCE THE MIDDLE AGES, HAVE BEEN TAKING IN SOCIALLY MARGINALISED PEOPLE INTO THEIR HOMES IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE PRINCIPLES OF INSTITUTIONAL THERAPY. THIS TRADITION, WHICH HAS EXISTED SINCE THE 13TH CENTURY, WAS INSPIRED BY THE LEGEND OF DYMPHNA. DURING HER RESIDENCY, BÉATRICE TRACKED DOWN AND INTERVIEWED THE VILLAGERS WHO APPEARED IN THE FILM IN ORDER TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE VILLAGE AT THE TIME OF FILMING. SHE THEN RESTORED THE FILM TO ITS ORIGINAL VERSION, IN THE GEEL DIALECT, WITH SUBTITLES IN DUTCH AND FRENCH.
DANNY SMOLDERS’ EXHIBITION IS OPEN FROM 18 JUNE TO 11 JULY ON FRIDAYS AND SATURDAYS, BETWEEN 19:00 AND 22:00, AND BY APPOINTMENT.
THE SCREENING OF THE DOCUMENTARY ‘GEEL’ (1976) BY ANDRÉ VAN IN AND VINCENT BLANCHET WILL TAKE PLACE ON FRIDAY 19 JUNE 2026 AT 20:00 IN THE SMALL CINEMA SPACE OF ETABLISSEMENT D’EN FACE.
EXHIBITION/ TENTOONSTELLING/ EXPOSITION
19.06.2026 – 11.07.2026
OPEN/ OUVERT
FRI/ VRIJ/ VEN – SAT/ ZAT/ SAM
19:00 – 22:00
