COLLABORATION: THE ART OF KRIS VAN ASSCHE
A#7 curator Kris Van Assche muses on the topic of collaboration, with particular reference to Londerzeel, the experimental zine the designer has founded with friend, gallerist Barbara Polla. This feature was orignally published in AnOther Man issue 9, Autumn/Winter 2009.
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In his collaboration with artists, Dior Homme’s artistic director Kris Van Assche has found inspiration for his collections and the material for Londerzeel, a beautifully printed, open-ended experimental zine. The project, the result of the deep bond and mutual respect between Van Assche and gallerist Barbara Polla, presents the work of many artists and photographers that have informed his recent designs.
“Collaboration is vital, essential for me. It is truly stimultating to collaborate with artists from all horizons – Wim Mertens’s music, Jeff Burton’s or Nan Goldin’s photographs, Zoe Cassavete’s films. My collections grow richer from each experience, because my vision becomes wider, more generous. I met Barbara Polla when she was invited by a mutual friend to the second Kris Van Assche show. Afterwards, she came to see me backstage and talked to me straight away about a project. She’s unique and in a class of her own. Her freedom to be herself is outstanding – her whole life is organised around her wishes. She makes her dreams come true through persistance and unshakeable willpower. She is radiant and holds a special place in the heart of contemporary artists – she’s not your typical gallery owner, she’s very close to her artists and very kind. Only Barbara knows how to combine rigour and outrageousness in order to create something new, whether it be an exhibition, a cosmetics line or a magazine. I was surprised when she told me she wanted to write a book about me. It has been a strange experience and in fact I’m still not entirely sure I’m at ease with there being a book about me!
It was at Barbara’s gallery Analix Forever that I met collaborator Andrea Mastrovito. I was immediately drawn in by the delicacy and expressiveness of his drawings, as well as their poetry. His world is exuberant and passionate – I’m touched by the work he has done for me; he’s the greatest poet I’ve ever had the opportunity to meet. And even though fundamentally we’re incredibly different, we have a strong connection between us. Two of my favourite images of his in Londerzeel follow each other, involving Andrea tearing a botanical encyclopaedia in order to ‘replant’ flowers. It’s an idea that meets with my world and my clothes.
Londerzeel is named after the town I come from. The town’s banality made me feel different at such a young age. It’s an ordinary place, neither beautiful or ugly, with people passionate about football and full of goodwill. I can’t say I led a fulfilling life there as a teenager, but it is the place where the people I love live. The zine is a project with complete freedom – I’m the artistic director and Barbara is the managing editor. In Londerzeel I wanted to collect projects that were not related to fashion. It is a way for me to tell the same story, to convey the same aesthetics but using other means, other mediums. We are working on a follow-up but we won’t set ourselves a deadline – when we have something to tell there will be another issue.”
Interview Dean Mayo Davies
