Mathias Prenen
Upside Down, in light of shadows

Mathias Prenen’s exhibition initiates a dialogue between art, architecture, and the perception of authenticity. At KIOSK, Prenen has created a site-specific installation inspired by scenographic elements and the architectural history of Ghent’s old Clinical and Outpatient Institute designed by Louis Cloquet. Using these as sculpted memory, Prenen presents creations from three different work periods between 2013 and 2023 in Ghent’s sister city of Kanazawa, Japan, alongside a selection of works created in Belgium. They reflect Prenen’s study of age-old techniques, such as the application of urushi, a traditional Japanese lacquer, and its reinterpretation in a contemporary context.

About Mathias Prenen

Mathias Prenen (b. 1990) obtained his master’s degree in fine art and sculpture from KASK in Ghent and studied lacquering and textiles at Kanazawa College of Arts in Japan. His mostly sculptural works range from large-scale installations to small objects. Prenen is interested in different ways of sculpting and is skilled in traditional techniques, such as chiselling and modelling, as well as more modern approaches, for example chainsaw carving. His multimedia practice gives rise to imaginative and visually arresting works with a pronounced focus on materiality and anthropological significance.

Discover more

• What We Look at When We Look at a Ghost, Jo Wu interviews Mathias Prenen
  
• Letter from the Japanese curator Washida Meruro about Mathias Prenen
• On the Bookshelf, a selection of books by Mathias Prenen
  
• Light on a shape problem, edition by Mathias Prenen, 2023
• A ghost rash, edition by Mathias Prenen, 2023

Practical information

• Opening on Saturday 02.12.2023, 3.00-6.00 p.m.
• Daily open until 14.01.2024, between 12.00 and 6.00 p.m.
• Closing period between 23.12.2023 until 06.01.2023
• Free entrance
• Louis Pasteurlaan 2, 9000 Ghent