Jonathan F. Kugel
XXIst century Wunderkammer
+ guest: Loo & Lou Gallery (Paris)
www.looandlougallery.com
Watteeustraart - 16
Rue Watteeu
1000 Brussels
M. +32 470 68 25 61
www.jonathanfkugel.com
jfkugel@gmail.com
Instagram: @jfkugel
Facebook: Jonathan F. Kugel
ABOUT
Jonathan F. Kugel opened his cabinet de curiosités in a 19th c. house converted into an art gallery, in the heart of Brussels’ antiques trade neighbourhood: Le Sablon. He aims to unit his passions for arts, sciences and history and organises themed exhibitions creating dialogues between ancient and contemporary art, natural wonders and oddities. This eclectic selection creates an unique vision of a contemporary Wunderkammer.
Since 2013, Jonathan F. Kugel - 6th generation of a family of antique dealers - defends contemporary artists through exhibitions confronting present creation with traditional Fine Arts.
“After working as a gallery assistant for leading Fine Arts galleries in London, in 2013, I switched to contemporary art and begun representing artists and curating exhibitions.
My statement is simple, I’m looking for the same qualities in a contemporary piece than in an antiques: vituosity, craftmanship, historical relevance and a vision.
The object is a source of emotions through its beauty, grotesque or abnormality and an intellectual stimulus, through science and technique.
During 6 years I organised over 30 pop-ups shows all around Europe (and sometimes further!) mixing wonders from ancient times with naturalia and contemporary art from all around the world.”
Joël Person, La Déferlante (detail), 2021, Charcoal on paper, assemblage of multiple sheets, 985 x 152 cmJoël Person was born in 1962 in Abidjan. A painter and draftsman, he graduated from the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris with honors from the jury.
Initially, the artist focused on portraiture before shifting his attention to themes of horses and erotic poses. He is well aware of the pitfalls of virtuosity and seeks the moment when the nervous impulse, the outburst of life, subverts the carefully crafted framework of figuration. Person is also a master of human figure drawing. To outmaneuver his own figurative technique, he looks for the breaking point in the static ritual of posing. He captures that moment when the model rears up and escapes to another place—everywhere and nowhere at once: a frown, a twist of the shoulder, a tilt of the head. The artist has had numerous solo and group exhibitions in France and China and has participated multiple times in international residencies (China, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ireland, Slovenia, Switzerland...).
His work is part of many private collections (including Hermès and Moleskine collections) and has been acquired by institutions such as the Jenisch Museum in Vevey. His monograph And There Is No More Room for Fear was published by Les Cahiers Dessinés in 2022. In 2023, he took part in the first Drawing Festival in Arles (a tribute to Sempé) with four highly acclaimed exhibitions. He has been invited back in 2024 for a drawn capture of the festival, which will be exhibited in 2025.
Passions by Joel Person, September 19 to November 8, 2024
A partnership between Jonathan F. Kugel and Loo & Lou Gallery.
