Le blog de Barbara Polla: KVA, an artist among artists

samedi 26 décembre 2009

KVA, an artist among artists

Kris Van Assche is a stylist and an artist. At first sight, a very fashionable position : many stylists, at one point or another of their career, develop an artistic production. Many of them become photographers, others produce objects that are, in some way or another, an artistic representation of their creative word as a whole – such as Walter Van Beirendonck for example.

Andrea Mastrovito's work in Dior Homme photographed by Vincent Lappartient

There is though something very special about Kris Van Assche as an artist – I won’t talk about his installations, just show them, Poet on Strike, at Analix Forever in May of 2009 – no, that specific KVA touch is the presence with him, or his presence with, other artists. One could nearly think of Kris Van Assche as a gallerist, or a prince, the type of those who invite artists to show their work for delight, for beauty and for joy, as they are aware that life without art is just not the kind of life they feel worthwhile.

About one year ago, Kris Van Assche invited Andrea Mastrovito to invade the Dior Homme boutique at Rue Royale in Paris. Freedom for the artist is the secret. Not only did Mastrovito invent a very special world for the boutique, but the two men became close friends and continue to work together. They are born the same day and showed at Analix Forever the day after their birthdays this last May : a mural sculpture for Mastrovito, and Poet on Strike for Kris Van Assche.

Andrea Mastrovito

At Hyères, in April, where Kris Van Assche, as President of the Jury, was invited to present another installation, Picaflor, he again favored the possibility to share the space with another artist, David Casini – who presented a performance entitled This thought crossed my mind – rather than use it all for himself. Artistic collaborations nurture him – and he nurtures the artists. Kris Van Assche and David Casini : encounter of the third type between artist and designer, in the “far away interior” of a fifth dimension in which even time gets lost.

David Casini and Kris Van Assche photographed by Gaetan Bernard

David Casini and Kris Van Assche photographed by Gaetan Bernard

The story continues… and beginning January 26, Kris Van Assche will present his next exhibition at the Galerie des Galeries in Paris along with the American artist Matt Saunders. Free and dedicated to both art and fashion, in distinct though aesthetically parallel paths, Kris Van Assche is a stylist among the stylists, and an artist among the artists.