Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor
MoMu celebrates the painters of fashion: the artistry of make-up and hair artists.
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Description of the exhibition
In MoMu’s autumn exhibition, Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor, James Ensor’s ideas about masquerade, (false) coquetry, seduction, deception and the transient are brought up to the present day. MoMu celebrates the painters of fashion: the craftsmanship and inexhaustible creativity of make-up and hair artists, in a multimedia exhibition in which light, colour, art, fashion and make-up come together.
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Down through history, make-up has often been viewed with suspicion and compared to the wearing of a mask: a mask to hide one’s true face. James Ensor was a critical observer of the world and the people around him. He recognized their insecurities and insincere coquetry. From 1888, Ensor used masks, clothing and accessories as ambiguous instruments for unmasking: a way of revealing the true nature and deeper feelings of his masked figures. The work of James Ensor leads to universal questions: Why do we wear masks? Why are people so afraid of visible ageing? How do we deal with ideals of beauty that are always changing and are impossible to achieve?
James Ensor, The Old Lady with Masks, 1889 1/7
Issy Wood, Self portrait 32, 2022 2/7
Make-up by Inge Grognard for Balenciaga, Spring-Summer 2023 3/7
Inge Grognard's first inspiration book 4/7
Pat McGrath make-up for Maison Margiela Artisanal, Spring-Summer 2024 5/7
Sketchbook Julien d'Ys for Comme Des Garçons, Spring-Summer 2002 6/7
Peter Philips make-up for Alexander McQueen, Autumn-Winter 2009-10 7/7
Today, make-up and beauty have exploded into a trillion-dollar industry that perpetually confronts humans with their bodily impermanence, imagined imperfections and existential fears. However, like paint, make-up is also a medium for personal expression, artistic experimentation, joy and freedom. Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor investigates how closely intertwined make-up is with so many aspects of our being human.
Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor
MoMu has joined forces with iconic art, beauty and culture platform Beauty Papers to curate the works of leading contemporary make-up artists and photographers in three new video installations exploring the key themes of Ensor’s work through the lens of beauty today.
With work by James Ensor, Issy Wood, Cindy Sherman, Tschabalala Self, Genieve Figgis, Harley Weir, Julien d’Ys, Inge Grognard, Peter Philips, Martin Margiela, Christian Lacroix, Walter Van Beirendonck, Cyndia Harvey, Thomas de Kluyver, Lucy Bridge, Eugene Souleiman, Éamonn Freel, Bruce Gilden and many more.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the book Masquerade, Make-up & Ensor is now available at MoMu Shop.
Exhibition under the lead of
Curators: Kaat Debo, Elisa De Wyngaert, Romy Cockx
Exhibition design: Janina Pedan
Graphic design: Studio M
Campaign image: Make-up Linda Cantello, hair Julien d’Ys, model Kate Moss, photo Paolo Roversi / Art+Commerce. This editorial originally featured in i-D (February 1996).
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Ensor 2024
In 2024, it will be 75 years since the death of James Ensor. But the avant-garde artist lives on in the city of Antwerp, home to more work by James Ensor than anywhere else. From September 2024, several Antwerp museums will highlight the artist’s oeuvre with a series of ambitious exhibitions. The focus is on Ensor’s lasting relevance through its influence on contemporary art, fashion and photography.