Joris Van De Moortel : La Tana del Matto

The Fondazione Ghisla Art Collection is pleased to present "La Tana del Matto", the new solo exhibition by Joris Van de Moortel.

 

Among the most radical and distinctive voices on the international contemporary art scene, Joris Van de Moortel develops a multidisciplinary practice that interweaves painting, sculpture, installation, sound, performance, and writing. His work draws on Northern European art history, mysticism, music, madness as a form of knowledge, and the ritual dimension of the creative act.

 

With La Tana del Matto, the first two floors of the museum are transformed into a total, immersive installation conceived as a mental and symbolic universe: a "den" understood as a refuge, a cave, an intimate space and, at the same time, a place of exploration. Visitors are invited to lose themselves among visionary images, sounds, mythological references, and historical stratifications, in a continuous dialogue between the sacred and the profane, order and chaos, past and present. At the heart of the project emerges the figure of the Fool-an ancient and ambiguous archetype-not as a mere emblem of madness, but as a possibility of freedom, reversal, and transformation.

 

The exhibition features new works created specifically for Locarno, alongside paintings, sculptures, light elements, videos, and sound interventions, forming an intense and unsettling journey that raises questions about the human condition, time, spirituality, and the role of art today.

 

On the occasion of the opening, the official exhibition catalogue will be published, featuring reproductions of the works on display and critical texts in Italian and English by Pieter Vermeulen, Annelies Vanwalleghem, and Louma Salamé, offering in-depth perspectives on Van de Moortel's practice from historical, philosophical, and iconographic viewpoints.