Philip Aguirre y Otegui. L'invitation au Voyage

Belgian artist Philip Aguirre y Otegui (b. 1961) is particularly known for his sculptures, installations and monumental works in public space. Less well known is his large body of drawings and graphic works. For Aguirre drawing is essential, allowing him to think and analyse the world: “I draw therefore I think.”

From a young age, the print room at the Museum Plantin-Moretus in Antwerp was an important source of inspiration for Aguirre. A selection of his drawings and graphic work is featured in this book, published on the occasion of his exhibition L’Invitation au Voyage at the Museum Plantin-Moretus in 2022–23. Philip Aguirre invited Simon Njami to write an essay for this book. The two met in 2010, during preparations for the SUD triennial, organised by doual’art in Douala, Cameroon. Njami was the triennial’s artistic director while Aguirre realised the monumental Théâtre-Source Didier Shaub. Simon Njami (b. 1962) is a writer, independent curator, lecturer and art critic, as well as co-founder of Revue Noire.

Tentoonstelling Museum Plantin-Moretus. Vrijdag 28 oktober 2022 tot zondag 29 januari 2023.