Press Release - Vicky David Gallery

As a result of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai focussing on the theme ‘Better City,
Better Life’, the Jing’An district organized an international sculpture project. This was
not only the city's first, but also China's very first governmental, public art event. ‘How
to improve life in an urban environment’ is a question that preoccupies many Chinese
citizens. The last few years, there has been a noticeable evolution on the Asian
continent. An evolution that regards art as one of the large pillars, in addition to clean
air, fewer cars and more green areas, to assure a high-quality life.
The ‘Red Beacon’ project therefore also fitted perfectly in this context, i.e. to spread the
message and to make the inhabitants of Shanghai acquainted with public art. This new
beacon in the city became an important step in the process towards more cultural
openness in the city. A beacon in the city, where people can freely meet up
and communicate openly.
27. My Secret Garden, Rotterdam Art Gallery, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
This summer, the Rotterdam Art Gallery presents ‘My Secret Garden’, Arne Quinze's first
exhibition in the Netherlands. ‘My Secret Garden’ is a large-scale indoor project in which
visitors actively search for answers to questions on which parts of the private life, which
he calls the secret garden, occupy centre stage. From his own intimate experiences, he
tries to stimulate visitors into looking for their own inner selves. For this installation,
Arne Quinze introduces specially created light and sound compositions, made by the
duo Danny Mommens and Els Pynoo (Vive la Fête).
‘My Secret Garden’ consists of two parts: an impressive wooden installation and a
space, which Arne Quinze refers to as ‘the temple'. He uses the wooden labyrinth to
provide the people with a framework to contemplate on the way they organize their
lives in relation to others and to undertake a search for their own inner selves. He
regards a ‘secret garden' as a place where we feel safe and are in control of who and
what we allow to enter into this clearly defined zone. It is precisely in ‘the temple' that
visitors come to themselves. Branches rise from the altar and reach into space. Metal
display cases contain Quinze's most recent works. In addition to the installation and ‘the
temple', the movies Rock Strangers and My Secret Garden are also shown, featuring the
making of in the Arts Centre and interviews with the artist and others by Saskia de
Coster.
The exhibition in the Arts Centre takes place at exactly the same time as the one in
Ostend and is therefore part of a double project with 2 publications and 2 films.
www.arnequinze.com/mysecretgarden
- 18 -
Press conference ‘Cities like open-air museums’
Exhibition of scale models and film by Arne Quinze
8 June 2012