ELITE 18

In 1988, Martin Kippenberger printed a peculiar calendar, using a series of photographs taken in a hotel suite of the Pension Elite in Vienna. Depicting the artist in his underwear only, the series referred to the famous photograph of Picasso (1962). In this way, Kippenberger managed to once again subvert the legacy of his prominent master. This satirical approach to the dogmatic status of an artist has been manifested also through the audacious title Elite ‘88, which we adapted with all its semantic charge.

ELITE 18 is the second edition of the annual group exhibition organised by KRIEG – an independent project space located on the premises of the PXL-MAD School of Arts in Hasselt (BE). It presents works of young artists connected, in one way or another, to the Euregio Maas-Rhein, who were nominated by four experts familiar with this context: Koen van den Broek, Lene ter Haar, Eva L’Hoest and Fabian Seibert. This selection by no means represents the ‘voice of a generation’ but rather a polyphony of voices and a snippet of a greater, vibrant scene.

In the recent years, the dichotomy of the art market and the ‘non-profits’ has been increasingly challenged by the presence of not-for-profit spaces in the biggest European art fairs, the examples of galleries stepping out of their commerce-oriented comfort zones, and by other hybrid exhibiting practices.

In this context, also KRIEG has sought an alternative way of generating and distributing cultural and financial resources. As a result, in the course of this show, the unique works will be available for acquisition, and the revenue will be devoted solely towards financing the production of new works by the artists and towards further activities of KRIEG (shared at the 60/40 ratio respectively). In this way, ELITE attempts to support the self-sustainability of both the artists and the institution, without losing sight of artistic and curatorial objectives.

Artistic coordination: Alicja Melzacka & Stijn Maes