vernissage 30|05|2026 from 16h00_21h00
laurence will be present from 18h30

a prelude to

THE BUNKER

a group show at SECONDroom
20|06 + 27|06
13h00 _ 21h00

with

_ marie-sophie beinke _ elen braga _ anno dijkstra _ nathalie campion _ erik haemers _ timmo hesselink _ jeffe de brabandere _ damien de lepeleire _ ruben de smet _
in care of _ michal luft _ hilde overbergh _ marie noorbergen _ daan peeters _
pieter-jan peeters _ laurence petrone _ John selien _ rune tuerlinckx _ loan verbanck _ nel verbeke _ sophie whettnall _



laurence petrone is a belgian sculptor and historian, co-founder of FAAR, an artist collective in antwerp

her sculptural practice centres on materials chosen for their sensory and bodily resonance, and on making as a collective possibility – through group readings and exhibitions

during ‘THE BUNKER, a group show’, she will read from the letters of Van Gogh . in the antwerp art box she presents her dismantled sculpture Rusty Cloud as a prelude to ‘THE BUNKER, a group show’



five questions about 'THE BUNKER. A group show'

Tell me about 'the bunker' - where does it come from? - Visiting Antwerp Art Box and SECONDroom, I imagined my sculpture Rusty Cloud in the space and what could happen if I opened it up: inviting other artists in. That impulse became 'THE BUNKER'.

What is rusty cloud? - Rusty Cloud is a hanging sculpture - heavy, composed of shards of the blackest stone on earth: noir de Mazy. Once installed, I pour water over its surface. This changes the black texture of the stone and creates rust.

What does the title evoke for you? - A bunker implies collective shelter, pressure, the preservation and accumulation of things to be cherished and in whose presence I’d like to be: hosted by the objects, close to them.

Who are the participating artists? - Marie-Sophie Beinke - Elen Braga - Anno Dijkstra - Nathalie Campion - Erik Haemers - Timmo Hesselink - Jeffe De Brabandere - Damien De Lepeleire - Ruben De Smet - In Care Of - Michal Luft - Hilde Overbergh - Marie Noorbergen - Daan Peeters - Pieter-Jan Peeters - Laurence Petrone - John Selien - Rune Tuerlinckx - Loan Verbanck - Nel Verbeke - Sophie Whettnall

The display window of the Antwerp Art Box features a picture of Andy Warhol's portrait of Joseph Beuys – why? - You might read them as opposites - art as ritual in service of social utopia versus art as reproduction and circulation; the forest and inner transformation versus the factory. Yet those opposites aren’t as precise or absolute as they first appear. The shared undertow I recognise is their determination to transform what art has become. To invite 21 artists into proximity with this portrait is meaningful to me as I write about Beuys in my PhD Thinking Through Form.

The nearness of a portrait triggers conversation. Maybe we'd like to tell them something?