The works of duo Gijs Van Vaerenbergh inevitably demand to be framed within architecture or the visual arts, and yet neither of both frameworks are fully satisfactory. Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh met during their architecture training, and have since worked within a more or less classical architectural context. Immediately after their studies, however, they developed a parallel practice in which they employed their technical and theoretical know-how for an experimental research that focuses neither on the ‘user’ nor on the production of autonomous images.
The output of that research varies from works in the public space and architectural structures to sculptures and smaller work. Within this undefined area, the duo developed a practice that thematizes the friction between function (architecture) and autonomy (image) in an increasingly emphatic manner, and is centered around the central question: at what point does the daily experience of space turn into an aesthetic one?
Koen Sels
http://www.gijsvanvaerenbergh.com/
The lecture is a part of the series Belgian Inspirations, organized by Kruh
http://kruh.info/
