MoMu celebrates the painters of fashion and the skills of make-up and hairdressing artists through the work of James Ensor in an exhibition that challenges the canons of beauty.

Issy Wood, Cindy Sherman, Genieve Figgis, Harley Weir, Inge Grognard, Martin Margiela, Christian Lacroix, Walter van Beirendonck, Cyndia Harvey, Thomas de Kluyver, Bruce Gilden... The MoMu in Antwerp invites us to a fine selection of artists from the worlds of art, beauty and fashion. The exhibition revives the radical, sarcastic and insolent vision of James Ensor (1860-1949), a pioneer of modern art. "It extends his ideas on masquerade, (false) coquetry, seduction, deception, artifice and transience to the present," explains curatorial trio Kaat Debo, Elisa de Wyngaert and Romy Cockx. The focus is on the painters of fashion, exploring the skills and creativity of make-up artists and hairdressers who constantly question the ideals of beauty.

STANDARDS OF PERFECTION

Growing old remains one of the central fears of the human condition, continually weighed down by the weight of societal norms and aesthetic conventions. From satire to realism, James Ensor always used make-up, masks, costumes and props in his representations to better reveal "the hypocrisy, deceit, opportunism and perfidious malice of those he criticizes". He probed the canons of the grotesque in contrast to the so-called "normative" body. Many stylists questioned this "perfect appearance", later experimenting with "the subversive potential of make-up, prostheses and image manipulation". Here, the curators show the work of make-up artist Inge Grognard, special effects designer Geoff Portass and stylist Walter van Beirendonck. All three
re-examine "the tropes of cosmetic surgery using latex prostheses". Cindy Sherman's approach, which often makes the grotesque her credo, remains just as relevant in her shots for Comme des Garçons.

FROM AGING TO REJUVENATION

The tour continues this reflection on the quest for eternal, youthful beauty. Today, rejuvenation has become a leitmotif and anti-aging a watchword. Inge Grognard's work also addresses this aspect. The designer who has collaborated with Martin Margiela, Les Six d'Anvers, Raf Simons, Demna (Balenciaga) and Glenn Martens (Y/Project, Diesel) manipulates skin, traces, marks and imprints. It's a creative process she's always experimenting with herself, the better to maintain her artisanal approach. In this context, MoMu and the Beauty Papers platform present the work of several artists around three video installations exploring Ensor themes, including one by Danish photographer and director Casper Sejersen (Acumen no 38). Christian Lacroix's approach is equally fascinating, with his wedding gowns closing the runway shows. The French couturier has always drawn inspiration from Miss Havisham, a character from Charles Dickens' novel Great Expectations (1861), which tells of the declining desirability of aging women. For his spring-summer 2004 collection, he and his hairstylist Cyndia Harvey questioned the assimilations between
"age, shame and declining beauty". This time, the model's ageing-hair wig shows that self-confidence only increases with age.

BEING AND APPEARING BEYOND TIME

This interesting MoMu exhibition probes the evolution of trends through the ages, consumer culture, identity analysis, technological transitions and advances towards inclusivity in the beauty industry. Not forgetting color as a product (foundation, blush) that corresponds to the user's skin, and no longer to social status or socio-cultural, physiological and
economic meanings. "Make-up and beauty, which have become a multi-billion-dollar industry, confront human beings with the evanescence of their physicality, their imaginary imperfections and their existential fears", reiterates the trio of curators, adding: "But, like painting,
make-up is also a form of personal expression, artistic experimentation, joy and freedom."

" MASCARADE, MAQUILLAGE & ENSOR" MOMU
NATIONALESTRAAT 28, ANTWERP (BELGIUM)
UNTIL FEBRUARY 2, 2025
MOMU.BE