Koen Brams
Letter from Luc Peire to Georges Chabot, 05.02.1960

On February 5, 1960, Belgian painter Luc Peire, who lives in Paris and Knokke, sends a furious letter to Georges Chabot, the chairman of the committee of the Ghent Museum of Fine Arts (MSK) regarding the refused purchase of a painting. What the chairman does not know is that the purchasing committee includes a mole. Peire is not the only author of the letter, his co-author listens to the name of none other than Ghent lawyer Karel Geirlandt, a member of the MSK's committee since the spring of 1958. Moreover, Geirlandt will use the letter, which he himself co-authored, to vindicate himself with regard to another lost purchase, namely a painting by the Ghent artist Philippe Morel de Boucle Saint-Denis.

Thanks to Sofie Corneillie (Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Gent), Simon Delobel, Toni Geirlandt, Carlos Montalvo, Marc Peire, Veerle Verhasselt (Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Gent) en Cathérine Verleysen (Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Gent).

The Letters Project

In 2022-2023, KIOSK together with the research group Ghent, playing field of the visual arts (1957-1987), will focus on letters from or to people from Ghent, or concerning the Ghent art scene. The letters are selected for their content, but also for their form.

For a whole year, the group will present a different letter every week in KIOSK, and will highlight its context or the questions it raises. During these presentations, the letter (or a facsimile) will be shown, possibly with other artefacts that are mentioned or that can clarify its meaning.

Ghent, playing field of the visual arts (1957-1987) consists of Naninga Lens, Sofie Frederix, Wouter De Vleeschouwer, Koen Brams and Godart Bakkers. For The Letters Project the group is reinforced by Simon Delobel and some guests.