Tinted mirrors (1976)
The artist wanted to show us something that has never been seen before, namely the concrete representation of a spatial optical movement. For this he uses mirrors tinted in different shades which he places in such a way that the work moves when you walk past it.“AEQUUS NOX” is the explosion of daylight, of the sun, a source of life, which the characters in the foreground, symbolising the races of all continents, contemplate with admiration. In order to render the reflection originating from the interaction between the light and this particular work of art, Vic Gentils has inserted, in the middle of the work, tiny pieces of glass from which he worked by cutting and sticking shards following a slight angle. To the left and right of this centre of light we can see silver, gold, brown and black figures which are sitting or standing. The whole scene evokes Indonesian shadow theatre. The figures share their adoration of the sun.
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VIC GENTILS (1919 – 1997)
Vic Gentils is a versatile artist who paints, etches, assembles panels and different objects, and has finally evolved towards sculpture using reclaimed materials, in which colour is very important. Despite his diversity,Vic Gentils insists on calling himself a painter. Nevertheless he has mostly made a name for himself as an “assemblagist”. All sorts of everyday objects are assembled and used: from charred frames, slats and table legs to objects found in rubbish bins and on waste land. He gained international fame towards the end of the 1950s with his sculptures made of piano parts and charred frames. From 1964 onwards, human forms appeared more and more frequently in his works. They often feature a sarcastic and cynical look at human beings. But he has also immortalised the Antwerp burgomasters Camille Huysmans and Lode Craeybeckx.
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