‘In Chris Meulemans’ (b. 1967) drawings, we can discern all kinds of references or possible (pieces of) representations. But they present themselves just as much as concrete things or constructions, never concealing the way they were made. (…) In her daily artistic practice (in which she makes paintings as well as drawings), she collects pieces of paper, which she organizes and keeps in boxes, sorted by colour, paper type, atmosphere, and so on. This is partly the raw material for her drawings, just as she has tubes of paint at her disposal as a painter. (…) Meulemans works very intuitively, letting herself be guided by her hand and by the materials she has at hand. Some actions – marks, brushstrokes,

Plants and flowers play the leading role in Chris Meulemans’ most recent works. The artist is not so much inspired by interior scenes or still lives, but rather by the way people interact with their environment and nature. Human history and science are filled with the urge to get a grip on nature. In a sense, humans structure nature (but also time and space) in an attempt to dominate their own environment. We are rarely surprised by manipulations of crops, plants and even animals; sometimes we aren’t even aware of them. Who even stops to think that a mandarin is not indigenous, or that exotic plants, vegetables and fruits are genetically manipulated to be able to grow in our regions?

  ‘Intersection’ is de titel van deze tentoonstelling. Ik ben het woord ‘Intersection’ toch maar eens gaan opzoeken in het woordenboek. En het heeft meerdere betekenissen in het Nederlands: ‘kruispunt’, ‘punt waar lijnen elkaar kruisen’, ‘knooppunt’, ‘snijvlak’ en ‘doorsnijding’. Zo, daar kunnen we even mee voort. Laten we naar de eerste betekenis kijken: ‘kruispunt’. Heel concreet gaat dit op voor de twee kunstenaars die hier tentoonstellen. Hun paden hebben elkaar ooit gekruist en kruisen elkaar nu weer. Fik van Gestel is in de jaren 1980 docent geweest aan de academie van Arendonk en Chris Meulemans was toen studente. Later zou zij een tijdlang in zijn voetsporen treden als docente aan deze academie. Ze zijn elk hun eigen weg gegaan, maar