Finnish visual artist Kristina Sedlerova-Villanen joined the new artist residency initiative KULT XL Ateliers in Brussels. Between January and June, she will be involved in artistic research on water manipulation systems.
KULT XL Ateliers is an artist studio network that has the purpose of supporting emerging artists, literally in the heart of Europe. An initiative from the municipality of Ixelles, the network aims to actively contribute and improve the quality of life in the Leopold neighbourhood. Once a buzzing artistic hub in the 19th and 20th century, it is now nestled behind the European institutions.
“We wish to perpetuate and value the cultural heritage of the area by working together with local inhabitants, cultural and institutional partners. Inviting European artists like Kristina Sedlerova-Villanen to join us in this effort is essential to our mission. We couldn’t be more thrilled to welcome her into our residency program and we look forward to strengthening our partnerships with the Finnish Cultural Institute of Brussels and to broaden our knowledge about Finnish arts and culture”, says KULT XL Ateliers’ residency coordinator Mathieu Menten.
In her work, Sedlerova-Villanen is interested in the inconsistency of human nature, the attraction of humankind towards building unequal systems and the need to believe in them. “It is a good opportunity for my personal artistic development to be selected and to work as an artist at KULT XL Ateliers in the heart of Belgium. I hope to fruitfully engage with the landscape and the community of the area through my artistic research and practice”, says Sedlerova-Villanen.
“I am incredibly glad to finally have an atelier in my use after a rather too long break. Previously I have been involved in the Benelux area as an artist in residence at Jan Van Eyck Academy in Maastricht and at Ravi – Ateliers Vivegnis International Liège with the follow-up participation in the Art Au Centre Liège #3 group exhibition with my installation OLD SUN in the vitrine of an old shop full of spiders!”
Biography:
Kristina Sedlerova Villanen (b. 1987) is interested in the inconsistency of human nature, the attraction of humankind towards building unequal systems and the need to believe in them. She works with geological sediments, edible, human made poorly degradable physical matter, immaterial sources and language deposits. She makes transitions in raw materials and the information history they are loaded with, unfolding the structures behind hierarchies and ownership history of natural resources.
Sedlerova-Villanen is a graduate of the Academy of Fine Arts Master’s degree program in Sculpture and Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture degree program in Scenography.
She has been exhibiting at PARK (Tilburg, The Netherlands), Outo Olo (Helsinki, Finland), Haukilahti water tower (Espoo, Finland), Art au Centre #3 (Liège Belgium), Van Eyck Open Studios (Maastricht The Netherlands), Kunsthalle Helsinki, Titanik Gallery (Turku, Finland), MUU Kaapeli Gallery (Helsinki, Finland) Eemil Art Museum (Lapinlahti, Finland) Colombo Art Biennale (Sri Lanka), FISAD 2015 (Turin, Italy), amongst others.
About KULT XL Ateliers:
Seven studios located at 23a rue Wiertz and one studio located at 44 rue de l’Automne are part of the network KULT XL Ateliers. The network has the ambition to grow over the next few years and offer about 20 workspaces for visual artists, dispersed over the territory of Ixelles.
The network offers 2-year residencies for artists based in the Brussels capital region and 6-month residencies for artists based in another European country.
New calls for artists will be launched depending on the renovation of these spaces. A next call for the Wiertz and Automne ateliers will be launched early 2023.
For more info, please visit Kristina Sedlerova-Villanens websites and Kult XL Ateliers Facebook page.