Just got back from Antwerp the other day. The trip was good, but exhausting. It is becoming clear that i am not as young as I use to be. of course part of my fatigue may be because i also took the whole family with me. My son is now 3 months old, and we took him on his first flight. He did surprisingly well for his first flight. He didn't cry any more on the flight than he does at home. The downside is that now i have 3 times as much luggage and my girlfriend has to carry my son. I began to feel more like a pack mule than a boyfriend.
we got to Antwerp and things seem to be going well. The only snag is that they lost one of our bags. Unfortunately it was the one that had our toiletries in it. After being on an overnight flight, it felt like each of my teeth was wearing tiny individual sweaters, so i was looking forward to brushing my teeth when I got it, but luck wasn't having it. At least our bag was delivered the next day.
Antwerp is a great city. Of course i feel like that anytime i am in a city that has good architecture. The added bonus is that Antwerp is a city known for Diamonds, Chocolate, Waffles, Fries, and Beer. Over all not a bad thing. At least it is better than my hometown of Baltimore which was known for the highest syphilis rate for a while.
Here are a few pictures to peek at.
Antwerp
sparkles
Of course the reason I came over to Antwerp is do the Lucky Seven show which my good friend Ephameron organized. The show was held in a temporary space called LUCY. LUCY is on the top floor of an abandoned 8 story building. It is a multifunction space that houses a find dining restaurant, gallery, occasional music shows, and hosts various events. The entire building is going to be rehabbed in a few months, so this space was developed and built as a temp space. The space will only be there for 4 months, then it is going to be dismantled and the entire building will be turned into condos or something like that.
I love the idea of the space. Something is a kinda magical about a creative oasis that hoovers above the city of Antwerp. The space is beautiful. take a look at the restaurant area.
this booth was constructed of this kinda squishy plastic that was surprisingly soft when you sat in it.
look at the view from the balcony
indoor seating area
tools of the trade for me on this trip. good coffee and a fully stocked ipod.
The set up went pretty well. We all did paintings on the walls, and it started loking pretty good. Then it seemed like lots of small things started adding up to one big problem. The main thing was that the management of LUCY never bothered to introduce themselves to us. Or at least me. I felt like the stepchild of LUCY. Nothing worse than flying 6000 miles to find out that the gallery doesnt really care about you, or the art you brought with you. Felt more like a bother than an asset. It was unfortunate because the show was good.
Nigel Peake in front of a painting by Pure Evil
Art installation of Swoon
Grid of art by Ephameron
Sebastian
Marcus Oakley doing a little mural work
Ephameron goes big
Nigel Peak installing
Marcus doing window work
Gallery view
Gallery View
NIgel Peake artwork
L'Atlas throwing up the card
Mural of mine that greets visitors as they walk into LUCY
Gallery View
Gallery View
Collab between Ephameron, Nigel Peake, and Marcus Oakley
The above picture was one of my proudest shots of this entire week. I whipped out my camera and said smile. Before i managed to snap my best candid shot, Marcus (on the left) broke out a smile that cannot be duplicated. After I took the picture, he informed me, that was his "Robert Dinero" smile. Take a look at this photo of Dinero and tell me he isnt a spot on for Dinero
After the opening we did the only thing that an englishman, american, and irishman can do equally well - Drink beer
The next night we went out for one of the things that Belgium is known for - pomme frites
fried grease - ummmmmmm
Marcos likes them
So does Epha
We saw this advertisement for a bank, but if you look at the picture it is more like an advertisement for NAMBLA. Kinda creepy, dont you think? Take a look at the guy. Doesnt he look like he is enjoying the young kids a bit too much? i think so.
Epha tries to bite the air
one of the things i love about Europe is the grand hallways of trainstations.
The last day in Antwerp Kristen and I walked around the Art Nouveau section of the City. There are some amazing buildings on this one street. Take a look.
This place was like a fucking castle
check out the greenhouse on the side of this house.
This house was amazingly large also.
best-house-ever
I loved the gargoyles on the side of this house. not exactly art nouveau, but spectacular neverthless
shot of the whole building
After that we headed down to Brussels for a quick visit with my Harlan. Harlan works for Modart Magazine and is an all around cool dude.
the city square in Brussels is amazing.
Check out the glass entrance of this doorway.
Then it was home. The woman in the photo below sat directly behind us and shot holes in the back of our heads with her eyes. it was like she was medusa without the snakes in her hair.
