A perfect introduction to Marcin Dudek's intriguing work. His artistic practice explores various themes from crowd psychology to family, security and violence.

Kunsthal Extra City presents the first institutional solo exhibition in the Benelux by Polish Brussels-based artist Marcin Dudek. Dudek, a former hooligan, is currently establishing a solid career in the field of contemporary visual art. 

The Group – including recent and new works – will be festively opened on 12 May with an intervention by the artist himself, who will also take the opportunity to introduce his new book Slash & Burn, published by Hopper & Fuchs.

From an early age, Marcin Dudek was exposed to extreme forms of football violence. Together with his brother, he was part of the hooligan community around KS Cracovia that bogged down in criminal activities to survive the 1990s. For Dudek, membership of this violent fan club paradoxically also meant safety and security, a tension that is easily perceptible in his work and is well shown at the Kunsthal. Curator Joachim Naudts describes it as follows; “Marcin Dudek is a remarkable artist whose raw and uncanny oeuvre fits perfectly in the former Dominican church where Kunsthal Extra City has taken up residence since 2021. The specific architecture – with its exceptional height, special light and sacred atmosphere – provides the perfect setting for Dudek’s haunting sculptures and menacing installations.”

The Group presents a beautiful mix of new and existing material. A number of works that have been on display before can now be shown in their actual size for the first time. The composition of the artworks, combined with the overwhelming architectural and sacred setting, creates a strong and consistent whole. Marcin Dudek himself will open the exhibition on 12 May with an intervention that literally leaves marks on his work and on 50 copies of a new book published by Hopper&Fuchs. One week later, we’ll party again as Kunsthal Extra City closes the Antwerp Art Weekend with a closing event in the cloister garden.

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“The Group“

Marcin Dudek

The exhibition will run from 13 May to 8 October 2023

Extra City Kunsthal
Provinciestraat 112, 2018 Antwerpen, Belgia

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