Forms of the Unseen: Art and Invisibility from the 1960s to Today

TheMerode presents an exhibition curated by Laurence Dujardyn (SYBIL). 

Spanning over six decades, the exhibition brings together more than fifty works, creating a dialogue between seminal figures of conceptual and post-war art and a younger generation of contemporary artists. 

Significant works by Sol LeWitt, Robert Barry, Piero Manzoni, Rosemarie Trockel, Robert Mangold, Lynn Hershman Leeson, David Wojnarowicz, and Tino Sehgal are presented alongside artists such as Carole Vanderlinden, Michel Tombroff, Loup Sarion, Loïc Raguénès, Sin Wai Kin, Valérie Mannaerts, and Armineh Negadari.

Through this cross-generational lens, the exhibition explores invisibility as a conceptual strategy, a visual paradox, a spiritual condition, and a tool to reveal political realities. It traces how artists, from the 1960s to today, have engaged with what resists perception—whether by reducing form to its most minimal expression, dematerialising the artwork entirely, or revealing what remains hidden within systems of representation.

In painting, the invisible emerges through processes of reduction and abstraction, where monochromatic surfaces and minimal gestures evoke the immaterial and the unseen. In conceptual practices, it challenges the necessity of physical presence, positioning the idea itself as the artwork—sometimes existing only as a set of instructions, a certificate, or even a thought.

Lastly, the invisible takes on a political dimension, exposing underlying power structures, systemic violence, and the realities of marginalised or surveilled communities.

By bringing these approaches together, the exhibition offers a compelling exploration of how art can make visible what is, by nature, unseen.

SYBIL is a curatorial platform founded in 2024 by Laurence Dujardyn in Brussels. It explores the intersection of contemporary art and historical perspectives through the encounter with other disciplines such as architecture, design, literature and philosophy. Operating across various locations in Belgium and abroad, SYBIL engages in collaborations with artists, curators, galleries, and institutions to develop its projects. 

 

More info: www.sybilproject.com

Artwork : Valérie Mannaerts - Accumulation of Unrecorded Life (Burgundy) - 2021 - Canvas, oil paint, tulle, embroidery - Mixed Media - 70cm x 70cm - Photographer : Philippe De Gobert

Artists : Eva Barto - Robert Barry - Martin Belou - Greet Billet - Daniel Boccato - Marinus Boezem - Charlotte vander Borght - Stanley Brouwn - Angela Bulloch - Vincent Chenu - Rhea Dillon - Peter Downsbrough - Edith Dekyndt - Miranda Fengyuan Zhang - Michel François - Mekhitar Garabedian - Valérian Goalec - Geert Goiris - Tine Guns - Gerard Herman - Lynn Hershman Leeson - Irina Jasnowski Pascual - Donald Judd - Jenna Kaes - Morten Knudsen - Nicolás Lamas - Louise Lawler - Walter Leblanc - Sol LeWitt - Bernd Lohaus - Valérie Mannaerts - Piero Manzoni - Robert Mangold - Katja Mater - Céline Mathieu - Guy Mees - François Morellet - Robert Morris - Armineh Negahdari - Camille Orso Caël - Giulio Paolini - Loïc Raguénès - David Rickard - Tim Rollins - Loup Sarion - Shervin Sheikh Rezaei - Tino Sehgal - Michel Tombroff - Rosemarie Trockel - Carole Vanderlinden - Sophie Whettnall - Lawrence Weine - Mia Walker - David Wojnarowicz - Remy Zaugg - Anna Zemánková