Power Mask: The Power of Masks

To this very day masks capture the imagination: where does one's identity stop and a transformation start to take place when someone puts on a mask, how do we deal with old symbolic and mythical meanings, when do we create new ways of defining ourselves, what is accepted and where does controversy start? Again and again, POWERMASK calls into question the border between tradition and renewal, between uncovering and covering up, thereby connecting past and present across different cultures. Ever since his first collections from the 1980s, Belgian fashion designer Walter Van Beirendonck has been intrigued by masks. In this exhibition and its accompanying catalogue POWERMASK, his personal fascination for masks and their impact on a person's identify translates into a particular and varied view of the phenomenon of masks. He also examines the role of the mask in the work of visual artists, photographers, and fashion designers. With contributions by Kaat Debo, Chris Dercon, Alexandra van Dongen, Clémence Mathieu, Valentine Plisnier, Jan Willem Sieburgh, Fanny Wonu Veys, and Sonja Wijs.With works by Diane Arbus, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hans Bollongier, Louise Bourgeois, Olaf Breuning, Thom Browne, Pieter Bruegel de Oude, Dietmar Busse, Richard Butler, Claude Cahun, Giorgio de Chirico, Christophe Coppens, Gustave Courbet, James Ensor, Charles Fréger, Coco Fronsac, Phyllis Galembo, Jean Paul Gaultier, Craig Green, Erik Halley, Keith Haring, Hannah Höch, Axel Hoedt, Stephen Jones, Folkert de Jong, Lajos Kassák, Brian Kenny, Christoph Klauke, Manon Kündig, Inez van Lamsweerde, James Merry, Robert Mapplethorpe, Martin Margiela, Paul McCarthy, Emil Nolde, Niels Peeraer, Pablo Picasso, Bertjan Pot, Richard Quinn, Augustin Rebetez, Tony Saulnier, Hans Schärer, Cindy Sherman, Saul Steinberg, John Stezaker, Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Maiko Takeda, Walter Van Beirendonck, Dirk Van Saene, Viktor & Rolf, Sally Wassink