LP—LV

LP—LV

For its next exhibition, Zwart Huis transforms the gallery space in the Rivoli into a fictional record store. No less than 100 vinyl records in remarkable record sleeves adorn the walls. They are the works of Peter Lagast (°1972). After graduating from the department of painting at the Hoger Instituut voor Wetenschap en Kunst (St-Lucas Ghent) in 1995, the artist followed a multifaceted artistic course consisting of drawing, painting, travel and sculptural excursions. In recent years, the focus has mainly been on the layering of paint on existing images, such as postcards, posters, paintings and especially on old record sleeves. It is the latter project and its impressive scope that will be highlighted during the exhibition ‘LP—LV’.

Peter Lagast began painting record sleeves during a residency at Be-Part in Waregem in 2017, a practice that grew into an ongoing project and has since become a recognizable cornerstone in his oeuvre. In a shrewd and sometimes almost humorous way, the artist interacts with the visual characteristics inherent in each record sleeve. Details are highlighted – sometimes a body part, sometimes a word or a certain element – and provided with a new, painterly context. A number of recurring motifs can be recognized in the multitude of works on display: the house (the place), the woman (Eros), the landscape (Eden) and, above all, painting and its muses.

The layered images are reminiscent of our zap culture, which in the meantime has even become a swipe culture. This new visual culture is not only full of art-historical references and parodies, but also contains visual references to things that affect us and pass us by every day. Just as advertising turns into a news report, a travel story or an art-historical note, the various layers in Peter Lagast’s images also merge seamlessly. They unleash an infinity of possible narratives, which are better left to the one viewing.