Milton Keynes Gallery

Milton Keynes Gallery Press Release

18 December 2007 For Immediate Release

Marcel Broodthaers 26 January – 30 March 2008 Admission free Exhibition supported by SMAK, Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, Ghent; Eurostar; The Henry Moore Foundation and the Broodthaers Estate.

Milton Keynes Gallery presents the most comprehensive exhibition in the UK by the renowned Belgian artist Marcel Broodthaers (1924–1976) since his Tate Gallery retrospective nearly thirty years ago. Broodthaers was a poet, photographer, film- maker and artist and throughout his career challenged the role of the artwork, the artist and the art institution. This exhibition has been conceived and developed by Milton Keynes Gallery with the support of the Broodthaers Estate. This will be the only venue in the UK for the exhibition, which runs from 26 January – 30 March 2008.

Considered to be one of the most important artists of the last century, The exhibition explores the diversity of Broodthaers’ practice including books, editions, objects, projections and paintings and features several works never seen in the UK before, including his first ‘artwork’, Pense Bête, 1964, which addresses his enduring concerns about form and language and the construction of meaning.

The exhibition includes Miroir d’Epoque Regency, 1973 from arguably the artist’s most significant passage of work Museum d’Art Moderne, Département d’Aigles. This comprised twelve different ‘sections’ and was founded with the 19th century section in his Brussels house in 1968. The mirror reflects the gallery and viewer back on themselves, questioning the role of the institution and the visitor within it. The exhibition also includes examples of his renowned shell works – mussels and eggs – as in Grande Casserole de Moules, 1966 and 289 Coquilles d’Oeufs, 1966. The egg and mussel shell become a recurrent symbol in Broodthaers’ work as a means of questioning the social function of the artwork. With characteristic wit and insight Broodthaers announced ‘Everything is eggs. The world is eggs’.

An illustrated exhibition catalogue with contributions by co-curators Barry Barker, Maria Gilissen and Michael Stanley will be available from the Gallery Shop.

Milton Keynes Gallery Telephone: 01908 676 900 Milton Keynes Gallery is part of Milton Keynes Theatre & 900 Midsummer Boulevard Fax: 01908 558 308 Gallery Company, registered charity no.1059678, a limited company in England Central Milton Keynes Email: [email protected] and Wales, registration no.2422890. MK9 3QA Website: www.mk-g.org Director: Michael Stanley Page 2 of 2

Free Prize Draw for Eurostar Tickets All visitors to the Broodthaers exhibition are eligible to enter the Free Prize Draw to win a pair of Eurostar tickets to Brussels by registering at the Information Desk. The winner will be picked at random after 30 March; terms and conditions apply.

Gallery Talks & Events All events are free unless otherwise indicated. Pre-booking essential on 01908 676 900. The Art of Poetry Thursday 7 February, 7–9pm £5 with a glass of wine Three poets from Milton Keynes and Oxford will explore the themes of the Marcel Broodthaers exhibition through poetry. Talk Back Marcel Broodthaers: Saturday 16 February, 11–11.30am An informal discussion-based tour of the exhibition with members of the Gallery education team. Focus on Marcel Broodthaers Supported by The Open University Artists in Conversation Thursday 21 February, 7–8pm Artists John Murphy, Keith Wilson and Richard Woods discuss the influence of Broodthaers’ work on theirs and others’ practices with exhibition co-curator Barry Barker. Marcel Broodthaers Panel Discussion Thursday 13March, 7–8pm Michael Archer, Head of the Ruskin School of Drawing & Fine Art, University of Oxford, will chair a discussion between exhibition curator Barry Barker, art historian Deborah Shultz and Frank Maes of SMAK, Ghent about Marcel Broodthaers’ work.

Notes to Editors

Press Information: Admission Free to all exhibitions and events at or organised by Milton Keynes Gallery. Press Images A selection of images is available to download from our website, www.mk-g.org. Interviews Co-curators Michael Stanley, Director of Milton Keynes Gallery and Barry Barker, Director of the Centre for Contemporary Art, University of Brighton, will be available for interview. Contact Giselle Richardson on telephone: 01908 558 302 or email: [email protected].