Mucciaccia Gallery presents a solo exhibition by renowned Belgian artist Jan Fabre.
Mucciaccia Gallery, London is delighted to present Songs of the Canaries: (A Tribute to Emiel Fabre and Robert Stroud), a solo exhibition by renowned Belgian artist Jan Fabre (b.1958, Antwerp). The exhibition features a new body of sculptures finely carved from Carrara marble alongside a collection of intimate, small-scale drawings.
Born in Antwerp in 1958, Jan Fabre is a leading innovator and one of the most influential figures in the international contemporary art world. Known for his contributions to visual art, theater and literature, he is the first living artist to hold large-scale solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as the Louvre Museum in Paris in 2008 and the Hermitage in Saint Petersburg in 2017. He remains the only artist to have received the honor of the Cour d’Honneur at the Festival of Avignon on three separate occasions (2001, 2005 and 2006), and the only contemporary artist commissioned to create a new work for the Felsenreitschule at the Salzburg Festival in 2007.
Birds have long served as metaphysical symbols in Fabre’s art, acting as messengers between earth and sky, as well as between life and death. In Songs of the Canaries, this theme comes to life through a series of sculptures featuring canaries and parrots perched atop human brains, seemingly contemplating the mind’s inner workings. With evocative titles like Thinking Outside the Cage (2024), Measuring the Neurons (2024), and Sharing Secrets About the Neurons (2024), these sculptures harmonise the sounds of the sky with the echoes of human thoughts, all rendered with Fabre's delicate craftsmanship.
At the heart of the exhibition is The Man Who Measures His Own Planet (2024). In this striking piece, a figure stands tall atop a stepladder, arms outstretched as if striving to measure the infinite vastness of the heavens. The sculpture features a cracked-open skull that reveals the ‘terra incognita’ — the unexplored terrain of the artist's brain — symbolising his lifelong quest to understand the incomprehensible. This figure is modelled after Fabre’s own body, with the face referencing his late brother, Emiel, who passed away at a young age and to whom the exhibition is dedicated. The sculpture also serves as a tribute to Robert Stroud, the "Birdman of Alcatraz," a prisoner who became a renowned ornithologist, specializing in canaries.
Song of the Canaries takes on a deeper significance when considering the Flemish phrase "The canary is singing too loud in his brain," Here, Fabre reflects on Emiel’s mental illness, suggesting that the overwhelming intensity of life’s song can sometimes become unbearable. Through this work, Fabre immortalises Emiel’s spirit, capturing the essence of someone forever striving toward the infinite while attempting to measure the immeasurable.
Ultimately, this exhibition serves as a poetic tribute to the fragility of life, the pursuit of dreams and humanity's enduring quest to understand the skies.
Songs of the Canaries: A Tribute to Emiel Fabre and Robert Stroud
October 12th - November 23rd, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, October 11th, 6 - 8 pm
Mucciaccia Gallery 21 Dering St., W1S 1AL, London, UK
Opening hours: Monday - Saturday 10am - 6pm
Further Information: MUCCIACCIA GALLERY | Modern and Contemporary Art Gallery