Manor Grunewald: horror at the gallery

(© Manor Grunewald, More Than Teeth Were Dropped, 2012)

Manor Grunewald is a young painter who often alternates figurative with abstract work. His paintings, for which he uses a variety of techniques, are layered and can differ in style – although his hand is generally recognisable. In his “Veil of the Invisible One” exhibition at the Ricou Gallery, Grunewald presents a new series of paintings vaguely inspired by old horror films. He deals with them, however, in a rather abstract way, with only the emotionally charged atmosphere remaining. The painting from which the exhibition takes its title is an exception. In it, the artist has transferred an illustration from a magazine onto the canvas as a digital print. It presents a double portrait of a miner; in one of the images, his face is badly burned. Grunewald has treated the background of the canvas with oil, acrylic, and a spray can. The result is a beige-ish, blotchy texture, in which the artist – like the illustration – plays with the work’s skin. For the most part, however, Grunewald keeps the horror muted – although a work’s title sometimes gives the viewer a clue. As in More than Teeth Were Dropped, for example, which presents an extremely dark scene, difficult to make out, with a sort of cloudy texture; the title leads one to suspect the worst. In a work with the ironic title A Quiet Evening, all we can distinguish is a man in a loincloth, who is tied up. A pink painting with whitish patches is also fairly disturbing, thanks to its similarity to human skin.

(© Manor Grunewald, Veil of the Invisible One, 2012 & Debts, Threats and a "For Sale" Sign, 2012)

The exhibition is continued in the gallery’s basement, where Grunewald, using some old wooden planks from his studio, has constructed an enclosure. When you peer through the cracks, you can just about see a projection of the films on which the artist has based the series. In this compilation, however, he has omitted the actual horror, leaving viewers in the dark, as it were. A consistent theme running through the exhibition is the contrast between revealing and concealing, with the splendid installation in the basement as its culmination.

Manor Grunewald: Veil of the Invisible One > 26/1, do/je/Th > za/sa/Sa 12 > 18.30, gratis/gratuit/free, Ricou Gallery, Opperstraat 54 rue Souveraine, Elsene/Ixelles, www.ricougallery.com