I miss you (but not so much) | Grand Opening

ba-nal (adjective)
Pronunciation: [baˈnal]
1. so common as to be annoying
2. too ordinary

We tend to use the word “banal” when referring to things that surround us or that we encounter daily. But isn’t that rather conceited? Because why would there only be beauty in things that are exceptional or rare?

With the exhibition I miss you (but not so much), Ruby Gallery presents two young artists who are inspired by the (allegedly) banal. The first, Bieke Buckinx, lives in Brussels and was also part of Bal Masqué, Ruby’s previous exhibition. The other, Nicolás Romero Escalada, hails from Buenos Aires and has been making waves as a street artist under the pseudonym Eversiempre for the past ten years.

Bieke Buckinx, who finds beauty, bliss, and also irony in the world around her, has created a series of six canvases for her second exhibition at Ruby Gallery, entitled -6. A reference to the strength of her eye lenses before her eye operation. Each of the six works also includes a set of Buckinx’s old contact lenses, “because I still have quite a few dried-out ones lying around,” says the artist.

No idea if Nicolás Romero Escalada ever wore lenses, but he does also have an incredible eye for the world around him and a special sense of humour. The artist makes delectably colourful paintings, for which he sometimes draws inspiration from the vegetable tray in his fridge, a drawer full of discarded cell phones, or a bedside table full of vibrators. At least, that's how we imagine it.

“I try to work around traces that are found in a space, that are the result of aspects of social life, symbols that represent this very context,” says Escalada. “The symbols are the result of the coexistence of different factors – economic, social and cultural – which define practices and representations: from a plastic bottle of a drink that is 50% cheaper than Coca-Cola, an orange from a public-school lunch, or even the image of Jesus, perched in house windows for good luck. Shown together, these objects signal human absence, but also fully represent the human being.”

I miss you (but not so much) @ Ruby Gallery
19 Boulevard de Dixmude | Diksmuidelaan
1000 Brussels, Belgium

Grand Opening 6-9 May:
Thursday - Sunday: 10am - 8pm
(corona proof, no reservation needed)

12 May - 26 June:
Wednesday - Friday: 12pm - 6pm
Saturday: 10am - 6pm

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