Répétition, 31st Biennal of Graphic Arts on tour at Villa Empain in Brussels, Belgium, installation view of the exhibition.
MGLC Archive.
The print Accident by Robert Rauschenberg held a special position at
the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts, particularly as part of the exhibition by Giles Round, Ljubljana, 1955. Rauschenberg’s failed process from 1962 (when he was experimenting with printing techniques using plates from newspapers and his lithographic printing stone cracked) became the model for the Ljubljana exhibition and played an even greater role in the Répétition exhibition, which was conceived as a reprise of the 31st Biennial of Graphic Arts.
The Répétition show was conceived similarly to the exhibition Over you/you, as a circulatory system by which images, objects and bodies moved through the Villa Empain. The exhibition explored the distribution of graphic art across national and ideological boundaries, focusing on the productive power of accidents. A historic collection of works from the Ljubljana International Centre of Graphic Arts, including Rauschenberg’s lithograph, was selected by artist Giles Round and brought to Belgium for the first time. The exhibition’s hosts periodically reinstalled the collection along with the works by artists Sophia Al-Maria, Becky Beasley, Will Benedict, Andrea Büttner, Shannon Ebner, Konstantin Grcic, Joana Hadjithomas & Khalil Joreige, Sanya Kantarovsky, Heinz Peter Knes, David Maljkovic, Radenko Milak, Anna Ostoya and Roman Uranjek, leading to unpredictable collisions and juxtapositions.
The selected artworks moved around a mise-en-scène of sculptural and cinematic contributions by Abbas Akhavan, Nairy Baghramian, castillo/corrales, Mike Cooter, Dexter Sinister, Latifa Echakhch, Deanna Havas, Ištvan Išt Huzjan, Hilary Lloyd, Jumana Manna, Otobong Nkanga, Lydia Ourahmane, Zin Taylor and Erika Vogt, extending the range of sensory experiences proposed by the exhibition.
Works on loan from the MGLC collection included: Karel Appel, Jim Atlan, Getulio Alviani, Max Bill, Danilo Jejčič, Kosuke Kimura, Lojze Logar, Roberto Matta, Ivan Picelj, Robert Rauschenberg, Gino Severini, Tinca Stegovec, Edvard Zajec among others.
The exhibition also hosted a parallel project: periodically weaving in and out of Répétition, choreographer Andros Zins-Browne performed Already Unmade, a new work conceived especially for the Villa Empain.
Curators: Asad Raza and Nicola Lees.
About the Boghossian Foundation
The Boghossian Foundation was created in 1992 by Robert Boghossian and his sons, Jean and Albert, Lebanese jewelers of Armenian origin. The Foundation realizes social and educational projects in Armenia, Belgium, Lebanon, and Switzerland. In 2006 they began restoring Brussels’ historic Art Deco masterwork, the Villa Empain. In 2010 the Foundation opened the Villa to the public as a center for art and dialogue between East and West. Since December 2015, its team has been led by Ralph Boghossian, Asad Raza and general manager Louma Salamé.