First Impressions

How to capture the moment of a first encounter? Does a first impression disappear at the second impression, does it dissipate with time or remain forever unchanged? In the course of a research trip to Brussels in 2023, we met several artists through fortuitous relationships. It all started with a first impression, a connection that made us want to see each other again. Some of these artists are invited to KRONE COURONNE, interlaced in a spatial constellation with no specific theme but a certainty: their radiance in Switzerland. For some, this means being exposed to a first impression, or perhaps a second or third impression. Based on the exchange and apparent flux between Brussels and Biel/Bienne, the collective exhibition FIRST IMPRESSIONS delineates an encounter. Indeed, the two cities share a similar character, through bilingualism, industrial and heterogeneous history - a whole that nurtures a dynamic artistic and musical culture. With no premeditation as to the works chosen, the exhibition is inhabited by an anachronistic aesthetic that shies away from classical codes. It oscillates between organic and architectural forms, ornament and functionality, mutation and simulation. Walls speak and open up to other worlds. Objects metamorphose and weave connections. A multitude of narratives intertwine within the space, giving shape to intriguing poetry. The title of this exhibition refers to a work by artist Wim De Pauw created at WIELS Brussels after an encounter at his exhibition at Lokal-int in Biel/Bienne in 2021. Drawing from different definitions of a first impression, the artist invokes the image of the “ouroboros”, the snake that bites off its own tail as a symbol of eternal return. The exhibition is a tandem project with open space for contemporary art Komplot in Brussels, which hosts Bieler artists during Brussels Gallery Weekend in September 2024.