Communiqué de presse du 16 avril 2007
Kurt Ryslavy
The Inner-Directed Artist: Happening et installation pour le lancement du livre Europäer, avec concert de Steve Houben Trio chez Kurt Ryslavy, 22, Place Van Hoegaerde, 1081 Bruxelles

Jamais je n’ai organisé une fête à la maison. Ca tombe bien! En mai 1987 je suis arrivé à Bruxelles avec bagage « light », alors ça fait 20 ans maintenant. En fait, c’est simple, je me suis débrouillé en achetant une belle maison avec garage et jardin en plein centre ville. J’ai vendu mon âme au monde de l’art et aux institutions bancaires sur place, et ça fait un revenu. Tant pis ; ce qui nous intéresse dans ce cas, c’est l’oscillation entre représentation « officielle » et vie « privée » – même artistique - dans un même espace.

Le visiteur « amateur d’art » est invité à apprécier les œuvres « exposées » - et même les objets. Il peut se délecter d’une installation merveilleusement raffinée et complexe. Par exemple, un confortable fauteuil de cuir turquoise qui est utilisable en plus. L’ensemble a un aspect « non objectif » car « espace indéfini » dans le sens de  l’exposition liée au format galerie, musée, institution, atelier d’artiste, etc. Il y a l’oeuvre la plus récente exposée dans le hall, derrière la table avec le catalogue édité à l’occasion. Une grande photo mystérieuse et « anonyme » accrochée devant un voile blanc translucide. Le visiteur « amateur de vin » s’adresse immédiatement au patron, parce qu’il ne comprend rien non plus, pas de bouteille exposée, pas de pub commerciale, même pas de commerce, on dirait.

Les curateurs expliquent : Par la présente, nous sollicitons le soutien de… pour l’édition d’un multiple de Kurt Ryslavy intitulé  L’histoire avec le vin. Il s’agit d’un texte autobiographique qu’il a écrit et qu’il va mettre en page en collaboration avec la graphiste Randa. Le livret sera réalisé sur un beau papier avec écriture dorée sur la couverture, dans un style très épuré faisant tout autant référence à la Wiener Secession qu’au catalogue de vente d’un produit de luxe.

Ce texte nous paraît très intéressant dans le sens où il s’agit d’un véritable ‘statement’ de l’artiste qui devient vendeur de vin autrichien pour subvenir à ses besoins et de comment sa pratique commerciale et gustative fait maintenant partie de son œuvre. D’origine autrichienne, Kurt Ryslavy s’est installé à Bruxelles, il y a quelques années déjà. Il a continué d’exposer en Autriche et n’a cessé de mélanger sa double identité, d’artiste autrichien basé en Belgique et de vendeur de vin artiste. Le texte qui est une confession est aussi très drôle et touchant. Publié en 36 langues Européennes, il permet de toucher un public international et large dans le sens où il parle aussi et surtout de la survie dans notre société, avec poésie. L’artiste peut s’identifier mais aussi tout un chacun sur comment on se construit une vie, une identité et un devenir socio-professionnel.

L’ancrage de Kurt Ryslavy à Bruxelles et en particulier à Koekelberg, où il s’est installé dans une maison de maître du 19ème siècle est révélateur de son engagement dans la vie artistique mondaine mais aussi de son quartier où il participe à de nombreuses activités. D’où l’idée de faire le lancement de l’édition dans la maison de l’artiste qui fait partie intégrante de son œuvre. A la fois, lieu de représentation pour les dégustations de vin mais aussi réceptacle de sa collection d’art résultant de ses relations avec les artistes belges et autrichiens. Sa maison est, à la fois, un cabinet d’amateur d’art, un atelier et un lieu de dégustation très raffiné.

Faire correspondre ce lancement à la date de la foire d’art contemporain de Bruxelles
(20-23 avril 2007), un haut lieu du commerce et des mondanités, nous a paru symbolique et intéressant pour attirer un public d’amateurs étrangers chez lui à Koekelberg. Le lancement se ferait le 21 avril, sous la forme d’un cocktail musical. Un concert du musicien jazz Steve Houben en trio accompagnerait l’événement qui se veut festif et performatif. Une photographie monumentale de l’artiste mis en scène comme personnalité du monde du business et de l’argent contribuerait à cette consécration du personnage. L’édition serait distribuée au grand public, à la foire, le 22 et 23 avril.

Après son lancement chez Kurt Ryslavy et à la foire de Bruxelles, l’édition sera envoyée à des professionnels de l’art et à la presse spécialisée en Belgique et à l’étranger. Elle sera, ensuite, diffusée dans certaines librairies et foires d’art, par Komplot, ainsi que dans les expositions de l’artiste, en galeries et institutions. Le prix ne devrait pas excéder 45 euro.

En espérant que ce projet retiendra votre attention, nous vous prions de recevoir, chers membres, l’expression de nos sentiments les plus respectueux.

Le projet a finalement reçu le soutien de la Communauté française de Belgique, de la Vlaamse Gemeenschap, de l'Ambassade d'Autriche et d'autres mécènes privés.

Launch of the book: wine tasting and concert by Steve Houben Trio

The book Europäer contains this text translated in 36 European languages and  illustrations:

The Austrian artist Kurt Ryslavy has lived in Brussels since 1987. There, as an artistic occupation he has built up a respectable living – a study of the societal observation of ‘the independent artist.’ Aspects of this identity camouflage still pop up in his visual work, when he integrates lists or invoices into his art or, the other way round, formulates documents as paintings.

The story with the wine

I had already lived in Brussels for some time, when one of my regular identity crises again disturbed my visual art, the production of art objects (‘panels’! What absolute nonsense!). Very luckily I had found a psychiatrist who let me- a nearly impecunious artist- move onto a floor of his large house, where I could live, without heat, and create my art. This friendly man, with the striking name of Francois Debauche, happily did this for the ‘cultural import to Belgium from the city of Sigmund Freud.’ In spite of many offers, he refused to take any money for the use of the room. In a sound-proof room next to me, a voice teacher regularly gave singing lessons to people of all ages and persuasions. The only things they had in common were that they had absolutely no musical talent, were untrained singers and had completely no intention of learning to sing. They were patients of Dr. Debauche and ‘singing therapy’ was part of his treatment program. One floor above me lived a friendly, young couple from Ireland. The communal bathroom needed to be continuously cleansed of blood- that often squirted about uncontrollably because they took their drugs in a less than sober state. They slept during the day and worked outside the house at night and that was also a pleasant aspect of our living together. In the cellar lived a no-longer-young woman who was psychologically disturbed, making communication with her difficult. Every now and then she would rant and scream (especially French texts and songs), audible through the entire house. She had a preference for long steam baths, which would completely flood the communal bathroom. A young, female doctor who lived on the floor beneath me was friendly and nice.

In this environment, I began my intense preoccupation with the wine theme. I compared the qualities of wines from the lowest price class on the Belgian market. I quickly realised that at that time, there was not a single bottle of Austrian wine to be found. Why, was an enigma to me. My artistic endeavours consisted of the manufacturing of very complicated, short texts, which I could only find sufficient concentration for at the break of dawn for about two or three hours. These works often lead to high blood pressure, panic attacks and migraines- therefore it was always an achievement to finish these short texts and continue with my comparison studies of cheap Belgian wine. The second half of my day was usually dedicated to visual art. During this time of my early exhibitions, I had developed an aversion to the average gallery public. I shook off this aversion by means of an early keywork in Gallery Foncke. I had the idea of using the ignorance and contempt of the gallery visitors- who turned their backs on the exhibited art in favour of gossip and cocktails- against them. I hung up several ‘No Smoking’ signs and encouraged the visitors to sample the glasses - which I had filled with wine from hidden bottles. That was all, they had to try with their eyes, noses and mouths to recognise something and to clarify or compare from their own experiences. What was interesting was that during this time, my gallerist couldn’t find a single collector for the ‘No Smoking’ signs, the only available and tangible art pieces of the exhibition. (The hidden bottles were the first Austrian wine I had self-imported, with a loaned car and for which I paid the taxes myself.)

Portrait of the artist and people reading the book and magazine

Text continues:

This was not the only conceptual or deconstructive or contextual (or however you want to call it) work that I developed at this time. The art market was flourishing and many of my colleagues were doing excellent business. The ‘Gulf War I’ (invasion of Kuwait) broke out and the red-hot art market collapsed. Several gallery owners committed suicide. Even though I never get caught up in hype (personally I didn’t notice any economic deterioration of my destitution) this fatal mood and the successful exhibition with the blind taste-testing, inspired me to a bluntly extreme form of conceptualism: the building up of a so-called respectable living. I wanted to attempt to begin importing wine. Although I had no serious business knowledge- except lavish private consumption- I did possess sufficient aggression and scorn for the conventional attitudes.

The studio of the artist

Text continues:

On top of this, a loan forced me to earn a higher and more regular income. When I tried to make my first serious attempts at offering Austrian wine, it dawned on me that Austrian wine could not be found in Belgium. Belgium was, several years earlier, hit with an Austrian wine scandal (the ‘Glykol-affair’). Because the local preference was for a mild, round and friendly priced (bulk-) wine, that was sold in tank by dealers (not wine growers) and then bottled in Belgium. This was the reason why the whole wine trade between Austria and Belgium collapsed, even though the scandal did not involve the bottled wine of the growers or producers themselves. In Belgium, Austrian wine was to a certain extent taboo, a social faux pas, a no-go product. I harvested only laughter, head-shaking and contempt. The first steps in the direction of my new artistic turn around, were stacks of boxes full of wine, which I could eventually drink myself. Nonetheless, it was officially imported with my own Belgian V.A.T.-number and registered with the Brussels Chamber of Commerce.

The book in the BAMART booth at Artfair of Brussels in April 2008

Text continues:
With this non-artistic insignia, back then in Belgium, the horizon of my fame and circle of friends slowly broadened. A completely other part of society (the world of wine experts, connoisseurs, traders, restaurateurs, critics, etc.) judged my suggestions as not good, too sour, expensive, hideously packaged with chaotic and incoherent labels, etc. These people had the interesting habit of seeing the art (M. Broodthaers, M. Kippenberger, R. Prince, G. Richter. F. West, etc.) in tasting rooms simply as decor. That indeed said something about the success of my concept, as well as about the ‘flexibility’ of elegantly presented art. After three years and after five years, not much changed- only after seven or eight years did the nuance of business improve. Then with President Waldheim, NSDAP-officer (non-active duty), came another societal blow that ruined the reputation of Austrian wine. No Belgian joint (respectable or not) wanted to hear a recommendation of Austrian wine. When the Waldheim problem faded away, the wine started to sell better and then the well-know Nazi child, Dr. Haider, entered the goverment and my import-export was back at square one. Nowadays, after many years of great effort, I must, with help from lawyers, protect myself from large, established Belgian firms that are trying to steal my difficultly gained market, by contacting my ‘wine friends’ in order to import my wines to Belgium (instead of trying it with one of thousands of other wine traders who aren’t represented in Belgium).
Currently the sales room is a hybrid of a private residence of an art collector and a sales room of an exclusive wine trader - a disturbing mix for art lovers who seek in artists the eccentric margins of society, as well as for the connoisseurs who think that they are an annex of the Austrian Embassy. In reality, this is the true atelier of the artist.

Invitation card to the book launch

The publishers at the SalonLight, art publishers fair in Paris, November 2007

The book in the exhibition FROM LOVE WITH BRUSSELS, Your-space, Van Abbe Museum, Eindhoven, 2008