Merci Facteur! Mail art #4Stephan Barbery & Guy Stuckens

Presented alongside the Brognon Rollin solo show, a new exhibition in the francophone Belgian Mail Art cyclebrings together Stephan Barbery and Guy Stuckens. Two artists fascinated by sonic research whose work bearswitness to the diverse approaches that exist within Mail Art.

Guy Stuckens (Brussels, 1955), musician, poet and trained painter, is one of the foremost proponents of Mail Artin Belgium, supporting the movement’s development with his theoretical contribution and organising exhibitionsand events. He played an active part in enlivening the Belgian sections at the international Decentralised Mail ArtCongresses in the 1980s. A presenter for several free radio stations, particularly through the MAM associationwhich promotes encounters between artists from diverse cultural spheres, he extended his Mail Art into radio artthrough the exchange of sound sequences between free radio stations all over the world. This practice sometimesallowed him to dabble in field recording (sonic landscapes featuring sounds recorded outside the studio) such asexperimental sound poetry, putting together a collection of sounds and occasionally including the political concernscharacteristic of the times.

A multi-disciplinary artist, or more accurately a rejecter of disciplines, Stephan Barbery (Brussels, 1961)subscribed to the DIY spirit of punk, of which he was one of Belgium’s first practitioners, especially with his groupDigital Dance. He is also the creator of numerous vinyl record covers (The Legendary Pink Dots, Parade Groundor The Neon Judgement), as well as producing the graphics for the PIAS (Play It Again Sam) label. He similarlyedited several fanzines that featured the contributions of international correspondents, while taking part in MailArt projects around the world. In addition to his careers as a musician, which he currently pursues with the bandsINK. and Babils, and graphic artist, producing the poster and visitor guide for this cycle of exhibitions, he producesan unusual body of painted work, dominated by processes that decompose and recompose the image.