Lot Essay
Jan Fabre is an artist, theatre-maker and author. In the late seventies he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Art and the Municipal Institute of Decorative Arts and Crafts in Antwerp. Fabre's works include installations, sculptures, drawings, films and performances. Over the years he has built up a sizeable body of work and has become internationally acclaimed. His best-known works include "Tivoli", a mansion covered entirely in ballpoint drawing (Mechelen, 1990); "The man who measures the clouds", a bronze sculpture, versions of which can be seen at SMAK in Ghent, DeSingel in Antwerp and in the sculpture garden at Catanzaro in Italy (1998); and "Heaven of Delight", a permanent work commissioned by Queen Paola of Belgium for the Mirror Hall at the Royal Palace in Brussels (2003). Recent solo exhibitions include Jan Fabre in the Louvre, Louvre (2008); Jan Fabre - The Angel of Metamorphosis, Museé du Louvre, Paris (2008); Jan Fabre - De geleende tijd, Bozar, Brussels (2008); and ARCO 08, Deweer Art Gallery, Madrid (2008). He has participated in group exhibitions including the Venice Biennial (1984, 1990 and 2003); Documenta, Kassel (1987 and 1992); the São Paolo Biennial (1991); the Lyon Biennial (2000); the Valencia Biennial (2001); and the Istanbul Biennial (1992 and 2001).