Moscou, Ghent - Belgium
2007 - 2010
Chalk drawings on public walls, private homes and interiors (with publication)

Invited by S.M.A.K., the contemporary art museum in Ghent, I have been working in the working class neighbourhood Moscou (Gent Ledeberg) for several years, drawing throughout the area with blackboard chalk. I began drawing on industrial buildings and walls, without asking permission beforehand. To the people in Moscou I explained that chalk is an easily erasable material that washes away after it has been raining. Slowly, I became a known face in the area and succeeded in shifting the work to the facades and interiors of private homes.

EN_letter to director SMAK_Ph van Cauteren.pdf
EN_letter to director Belgian Railways_J Haek.pdf
NL_brief aan directeur SMAK_Ph van Cauteren.pdf
NL_brief aan directeur Belgische spoorwegen_J Haek.pdf

Oudenaarde, Belgium
2009
Chalk drawing on church

Invited by the organisation VersusV I made site specific drawings, as part of a group exhibition. Right before the restoration of the Walburga Church at the central market of Oudenaarde, a drawing of chalk lines frames the sediments (like soot and other pollution) on the building. Where the restoration aims to 'clean' the building, it will also polish away a very thin layer of history. The frame of chalk lines brings a homage to this history, it highlights the unwanted dirt. The drawing is spread over the entire market side of the church.

NL_brief aan Deken, A Peereboom.pdf

Curaçao, Dutch Caribbean
2007
Chalk drawings on roads, buildings and in private homes

On Curaçao I worked for five months as the first guest of the new Instituto Buena Bista (IBB / international studio Fonds BKVB, Feb. - June 2007). I made several series of chalk drawings, including a drawing on an old water tower, a drawing on the back of an abandoned colonial building, on the walls of a psychiatric institution and on several roads. Commissioned by the dutch / curaçaoan architect Carlos Weber I made large drawings on the interior of his new residential villa.

NL_SWA_tekst.pdf

S.M.A.K. Ghent, Belgium
2007
Charcoal drawing on exhibition space / chalk drawing on walls in public space (with publication)

Quote from a letter to the commissioner, 'Friends of SMAK':
'The drawing in the Kunst NU space is part of a journey on which I use chalk and charcoal to make drawings on walls in public spaces of cities. Sometimes a wall is offered to me, like this time by you. The Kunst NU space is long, narrow and high. I wanted to give the space weight as well as emptiness, so as to bring the space itself out of balance.'

NL_letter to friends of SMAK.pdf

Culturgest Porto / Culturgest Lisbon, Portugal
2006
chalk drawings on public walls / charcoal drawing in exhibition space / chalk drawing on social housing designed by Alvaro Siza (with publication)

For a solo exhibition in Culturgest Porto I was confronted with a difficult space, the former reception hall of a monumental bank building. One of the drawings looks at the reception hall in a bird’s eye view, while in another drawing I approach the hall from ground level perspective.

I continued the drawing on the façade of the uncompleted social housing project 'Conjunto Habitacional da Bouça', by the Portuguese architect Alvaro Siza.
Parallel to the project I worked in Culturgest Lisbon as participant of a group exhibition with ROMA publications. I made drawings both on walls in the art space as well as on walls in the outskirts of Lisbon.

NL_Portugese_omzwervingen_Frank_Maes.pdf
EN_Portuguese_wanderings_Frank_Maes.pdf