State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, RU

On 22 October 2016, the State Hermitage opened a major exhibition of the most famous modern Flemish artist Jan Fabre 'Knight of Despair / Warrior of Beauty' curated by the painter himself jointly with Dmitry Ozerkov, the Head of Contemporary Art at the State Hermitage.
Fabre has created a number of new works especially for this exhibition numbering more than two hundred exhibits.
Jan Fabre (Antwerp, 1958), an artists and a director, uses his works to speculate in a loud and tangible manner about life and death, physical and social transformations, as well as about the nature of  cruelty, which is present in both animals and humans.
Influenced by the research carried out by the entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre (1823-1915) Fabre became fascinated by the world of insects and other creatures at a very young age. He uses beetle shells, animal skeletons and horns, as well as stuffed animals and images of animals in various materials. The list of unusual materials goes beyond that and covers blood and BIC blue ink.
As emphasized by the painter and acknowledged by critics and researchers, his art goes back to the traditions of classic Flemish art, which he admires. Peter Paul Rubens and Jacob Jordaens are his main inspiration, and the visitors will (or won’t) see it themselves. For the exhibition period, Fabre’s works will make part of the museum’s permanent exposition and enter into a dialogue with the absolute international masterpieces.
The idea of the exhibition appeared after Jan Fabre had had a temporary exposition at the Flanders and the Netherlands Galleries at the Louvre. At the Hermitage halls, this “sketch” will develop into a major art event that is sure to spark a great interest and many debates, which are to be held at another intellectual discussion marathon. The exhibition will come with series of lectures, master classes and round-table discussions. The exposition will air eight films, including the performance film featuring the painter, which was filmed in the Winter Palace in June 2016.
The exhibition has been prepared by the Contemporary Art Department at the State Hermitage as part of the Hermitage 20/21 Project.
www.hermitagemuseum.org

Deweer Gallery lends some works for this exhibition. See presentation file.
Click here for exhibition views taken during the opening.