Wouter De Vleeschouwer
Letter from Patrick Van Caeckenbergh to Marc Goethals, 12.02.1986

On February 12, 1986, two unusual envelopes landed in the mailbox of artist Marc Goethals (b. 1956), who at the time lives in the Parklaan, Ghent. Inside a blue envelope is a handwritten letter, in the other, large package are three thin self-assembled booklets. The sender of the letter and the mail art package is artist Patrick Van Caeckenbergh (b. 1960), the neighbor of Goethals. Van Caeckenbergh sends the letter after being intrigued by the first solo exhibition of Goethals in gallery Gabbro in Ghent. The letter marks the beginning of a curious, brief correspondence between two artist-neighbors.

Thanks to: Marc Goethals, Inge Ketelers, Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, Noel Cornelis, An Jonckheere, Frank Demaegd, Nina Hendrickx, Koen Brams en Simon Delobel.

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.