The late Belgian artist Guy Mees has been a central figure of Antwerp's art scene since the 1970s. This catalogue features emblematic works and unpublished archival materials from the artist's creative phases spanning the 1960s to 2000s; two unpublished essays, and an interview with the artist.
Borrowed from a note the artist jotted down on one of his works on paper, the title The Weather is Quiet, Cool, and Soft pays homage to the atmospheric impermanence of Mees's works, as well as his infra-ordinary, relativistic, and poetic approach. With emblematic works and unpublished archival materials from the artist's creative phases spanning the 1960s to 2000s, the publication emphasizes the idiosyncrasy and significance of Mees's practice and personality. These are complemented by two new essays by Lilou Vidal and François Piron; a translation of a text by Fernand Spillemaeckers from the 1970s; and an interview conducted with Mees's friend and accomplice Wim Meuwissen, his long-standing gallerist Micheline Szwajcer, and Dirk Snauwaert, who produced the first retrospective and a definitive monograph dedicated to Mees's work.
Published on the occasion of the eponymous exhibition at Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna, from February 1 to April 8, 2018, and at Mu.ZEE, Ostend, from November 25, 2018, to March 10, 2019.
Guy Mees (1935-2003) is a Belgian artist whose oeuvre encompasses photographs, videos, sculptures, and fragile works on paper that combine formal rigor with delicacy and a conceptual approach. A leading figure of the Belgian avant-garde, Mees left behind an outstanding body of work that transgresses geometric abstraction, Minimalism, Conceptualism, and applied arts.
Edited by Lilou Vidal.
Texts by François Piron, Fernand Spillemaeckers, Lilou Vidal, interview with Guy Mees by Wim Meuwissen, Dirk Snauwaert, Micheline Szwajcer.
