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Jan FabrDirector
Country:
 Belgium |
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Biography of Jan Fabre
Jan Fabre is a Belgian artist, sculptor, theatrical director, playwright, screenwriter, and choreographer. He was born on December 14, 1958, in Antwerp, Belgium. According to most sources and Fabre's own statements, he is the grandson of the famous entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre, author of the book "The Life of Insects"; it is also sometimes claimed that the artist is his great-grandson. Some sources, while acknowledging the undeniable influence of the entomologist on Jan Fabre's work, do not mention their relation; some authors even question this claim. In any case, Fabre has been interested in the world of insects since childhood, when he loved to observe them in his parents' garden. As a teenager, he often visited the Antwerp Zoo. He studied at the Municipal Institute of Decorative Arts and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. From the mid-1970s, he started working in various fields of art. Among his early works were drawings created with a ballpoint pen. In the 1970s, he organized a series of performances that brought him scandalous fame; in the 1980s, he turned to theater. In 1986, he founded his own company, Troubleyn, which carries out projects in the field of theater and dance. The name is derived from his mother's maiden name. Troubleyn, which Fabre refers to as his creative laboratory, also engages in research activities. Furthermore, it houses Fabre's collection of works by contemporary artists.
Artist
Fabre is one of the most versatile artists on the international art scene. He is not only a theater, opera, and ballet director, choreographer, author, and scenographer but also a visual artist. His visual art mainly consists of drawings, sculptures, films, and installations. This multidimensionality is a crucial and recognizable characteristic of his work. He employs various art forms, respecting their specific characteristics and uniting them through common themes.
The world of insects, the human body, and the strategy of war are the three central themes that he explores in his artwork. His work can be seen at exhibitions around the world. For example, in the series "Homage to Hieronymus Bosch in Congo," he showcases the absurdity and horrors of Belgian colonialism in Congo. In 2012, Fabre held a performance dedicated to Salvador Dali, during which live cats were thrown in such a way that they landed on steps with loud meowing. The performance sparked outrage among animal lovers. In response to numerous critical letters, the artist publicly apologized and later complained about the "exaggerated" portrayal of the incident.
From October 21, 2016, to April 9, 2017, the first exhibition of Jan Fabre in Russia, titled "Knight of Despair – Warrior of Beauty," took place at the Hermitage Museum, causing a heated public debate due to the artist's use of taxidermy animals in his installations.
Troubleyn
In 1986, Fabre founded the Troubleyn group in Antwerp, his hometown. Since the late 1970s, Fabre has gained great success with his theatrical texts. Since 1980, he has been directing and staging plays himself. In 1982, he gained worldwide fame with the production "This Is Theatre as You Like It and Expect It." In 1984, he confirmed his success with the play "The Power of Theatrical Madness," written for the Venice Biennale. Among his other productions are "I Am Blood" (Je suis Sang) (2001), "Swan Lake" (2002), "Angel of Death" (2003), and others. His most famous recent production is "Mount Olympus" (2016), which lasts 24 hours.
Angelos
The limited liability company Angelos manages Fabre's visual art. Angelos coordinates all projects related to visual art, including museum and gallery exhibitions, public and private projects, as well as the publication of catalogs.
Drawings
Drawings best convey Fabre's ideas. Some of his drawings are made with his own blood, pencil, or the famous blue Bic pen. In his early drawings, Fabre showed an interest in the metamorphosis that occurs in the nocturnal world of insects and in sensual and experimental fantasy.
The artist is known for his "Bic art." His drawings with the blue Bic pen on paper touch upon various themes. In this specific color, he sees the so-called "Blue Hour." It is the moment when nocturnal insects fall asleep, and morning creatures have not yet awakened. In this moment, the energy of darkness and light merge. This color is neither black nor white but has a blue shade born from the metamorphosis of life transitioning from one state to another. This is the true meaning of the "Blue Hour," an artwork created from the energy of those extreme boundaries of life where new life is born.
Fabre also uses the Bic pen to scratch objects, expanding his "Bic art" collection beyond drawings to various objects. He wants large drawings to become sculptures. Thus, the drawings become objects that can be circled around.
Fabre's interest in sensual and experimental fantasy is particularly evident in his solo exhibitions. In 1978, he drew with his own blood, symbolizing the exploration of the human body as a link between external and internal worlds, between the face and its surroundings. His solo exhibition "My Body, My Blood, My Landscape" aimed to convey this symbolism. In this exhibition, he used blood as ink, imbued with great symbolic meaning.
Sculptures
Fabre also creates sculptures using white marble, bronze, gold, and beetle shells.
In Fabre's sculptures, the three central themes that continually reappear in his work are clearly visible: the world of insects, the human body, and the strategy of war.
Fabre considers sculptures to be spiritual bodies: "The body is like a shell. There is nothing inside it, but it is full of memories." Beetle shells serve as an external skeleton, symbolizing the future representation of humanity. In his sculptures, he aims to free the body from the forbidden themes that have persisted since the Middle Ages. Death has no negative meaning for Fabre.
In 2002, on the commission of Queen Paola of Belgium, Fabre created "Heaven of Delight" (also known as "The Beetle Ceiling"). He used nearly one and a half million wing cases of Thai beetles to cover the ceiling and central chandelier in the Mirror Room of the Royal Palace in Brussels. This artwork refers to the most famous fresco by artist Michelangelo in the Sistine Chapel in Rome.
Fabre has created an entire collection of self-portraits. In total, he has constructed 36 busts with various horns and donkey ears, made using the classical technique of bronze casting. Some examples include "Me When I Dream" (1978), "I Release Myself" (2006), and "Chapter I-XVIII" (2010).
