Josef Strau

dépendance, Brussels

dépendance

Installation view of a gallery with white walls and a polished concrete floor in a pattern of light and middle grey, black and yellow. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached.

Another installation view of a gallery with white walls and a polished concrete floor in a pattern of light and middle grey, black and yellow. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached. The lamps are on and throw a warm light on the gallery.

A darker installation view of a gallery. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached. The lamps are on but they're not throwing much light into the space.

A brighter installation view of the gallery with natural light coming from our left. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached. The lamps are on but can't compete with the natural light filling the space.

Another installation view of a gallery lit with natural light. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached. The lamps are on, competing with the natural light in the gallery.

A bright installation view of the gallery with natural light coming from our left. Along the gallery wall four framed texts hang. Floor lamps and desk lamps sit on the gallery floor in a crowd of different styles and heights. Many of their shades are draped with scarves and some of the lamp shades have texts attached. The lamps are on, competing with the natural light filling the space.

A tighter view taken from close to the gallery wall. The floor lamp in the center of the image has been modified slightly. The base of the lamp is round and black with a black pipe leading up four or five feet to a lampshade. Another, smaller lampshade has been strung along the base as if two lamps had been put together. The black base is thinly painted with white following the second shade. The white paint drips and swirls slightly, the black still partly visible. A sheer black fabric with fraying ends has been thrown over the beige lampshade at the top. Another lamp, shorter, with a narrow lampshade and a painted base, sits right next to the former floor lamp, as if in the shade of a tree. Both lamps are on.

Another view of the modified lampshades taken from their other side. Over the top of another floor lamp we can see the two modified floor lamps in the last image. The shorter, more delicate lamp sits next to the taller lamp. The sheer black fabric thrown over the tall lampshade overhangs onto the smaller, narrower lampshade. Both stands have been painted with a layer of thin white paint that drips and swirls, not completely covering the black metal of the lamp's base.

Another view of the modified lampshades taken from the other side, now facing the wall with the framed texts. The image focuses on the top half of the floorlamps. The shorter, more delicate lamp sits next to the taller lamp. Sheer black fabric drapes over the tall lampshade onto the smaller, narrower lampshade. Both stands have been painted with a layer of thin white paint that drips and swirls, not completely covering the black metal of the lamp's base.

A tighter view of the two modified floor lamps. Sheer black fabric with frayed ends has been tossed over the top of one of the lampshades and drapes down over a smaller lamp next to it. Text has been stamped or printed onto the smaller lampshade. It's applied at an angle and can't be read even after zooming into the image. Other lamps and windows that look out to the street beyond the gallery can be seen through the sheer black fabric.

A tighter view of the two modified floor lamps. This image is taken from under the larger floor lamp so that we can see inside the lampshade. A piece of paper with text has been added to the inside, well illuminated by the glow of the lamp. The text is very small and unreadable even after zooming. There is similarly small text applied to the outside of the smaller, narrower lampshade below it. The base of the shade appears to have been spray painted with white paint that does not fully cover the original black metal stand.

A detail view of the smaller floor lamp seen in the last few images. We can see now that paper with text has been wrapped around the lampshade, and long strips of yellowing tape have been applied over it. Sheer black fabric drapes over it from the larger shade above, which cannot be seen in this image. None of the text is readable even after zooming.

A close up of the lampshade covered with text, yellowing tape and various pen squiggles and dots.

Another detail of the pair of lamps seen in the last few images. This image focuses on the bases of both lamps. On our left is a round black base with a black stem that shortly leads to a small lampshade but this shade doesn't have a bulb, it has been added like a bead to the long stem of the floorlamp. The stem of this lamp continues out of the top of the lampshade but coming out, it's been spray painted white. So the bottom of the lamp looks like a small black desk lamp with black base and tan lampshade but coming up out of the tan shade the stem continues as white up to a bulb and second shade (not seen in this detail shot.) On our right, a small round base and narrow stem have been spray painted white. The original black or gray metal shows through in places and the paint is mottled and uneven.

An image of two other lamps among the large group of lamps in the gallery. One larger lamp has a gold stand and a tan lampshade, while a smaller lamp has a white lampshade.

Another view of the tan and white lamps from the last image. This image is tighter, taken from above and looking down to the lightbulb in the shorter lamp. A paper with text has been wrapped around the white lampshade and secured with a piece of clear plastic. The text cannot be read even after zooming into the image. From this angle we can see that the larger floor lamp with the tan lampshade has been painted white at the base. The round metal base is white and the paint extends up the gold stand five or six inches.

A detail of the tan lampshade. The lamp has been stained or marked by black ink speckles. When zooming in, we can see that it might be ink or thin paint because the black stains have spread like stars. Different lengths of wire have been attached to the top of the lamp and curl over the shade.

An image of a floor lamp placed between two framed text works. The lamp has a round gold base and stem and then a joint. After this joint, five or six inches up, the stem has been painted with a layer of thin white. The paint is mottled and black shows through. The lampshade at the top is white, covered by transparent plastic, as if it was fresh from a store. Around the bottom edge of the lamp two layers of fabric have been draped. The first layer has an uneven edge and is a combination of greens and black. The layer above is a light grey grid, where the weave is so wide that the fabric below shows through. The lamp is on.

A detail of the modified floorlamp described in the last image. From this angle it is clearer that rather than two pieces of fabric attached to the bottom of the lampshade, there is a green marbled lamp shade with a fragment of marbled paper attached to one edge to make an uneven line. This has been draped with a light gray fabric woven in a loose grid. This fabric or net allows some green from the shade below to come through.

Another detail of the lampshade with a fragment of marbled paper taped to its bottom edge. Squiggles of black ink have been added in places over the pattern of white and gray marbling in the paper. The gray loose weave fabric drapes over the top of the lampshade. The image appears to be taken with a flash and all the lights stand out sharply.

Another detail of the gray loose weave fabric. The fabric makes a loose net or grid and in the open squares text shows through from a paper below.

Another pairing of lamps among the group in the gallery. On our left, a tall floor lamp with a round base and stem painted white. The paint is thin and mottled. The lamp shade has been painted or stained with brown. The glow of the bulb shows through the layers of paint. A thin white string hangs in long loops from the top of the lampshade. Next to this lamp, a floor lamp with an adjustable arm is tipped to be perpendicular to its stem. The stem and cross arm are painted white. The lamp looks like it has a black metal shade, of the same material as the lamp but it has been surrounded by a traditional fabric shade. This second lamp is leaning close to the first lamp, and the stem of the first lamp is coming out through the second lampshade. The shade is a loop and the thin stem of the other floor lamp is strung through that loop so the two lamps are connected. The lampshade itself is covered with a piece of paper with text (unreadable even with zoom).

A slightly different image of two modified floor lamps. On our left, a tall floor lamp with a round base and stem is painted white. The paint is thin and mottled. The lamp shade has been painted or stained with brown. The glow of the bulb shows through the layers of paint. A thin white string hangs in long loops from the top of the lampshade. Next to this lamp, a floor lamp with an adjustable arm is tipped to be perpendicular to its stem. The stem and cross arm are painted white. The lamp looks like it has a black metal shade, of the same material as the lamp but it has been surrounded by a traditional fabric shade. This second lamp is leaning close to the first lamp and the stem of the first lamp is coming out through the second lampshade. The shade is a loop, and the thin stem of the other floor lamp is strung through that loop so the two lamps are connected. The lampshade itself is covered with a piece of paper with text (unreadable even with zoom).

A detail of a lampshade. The lamp shade has been painted or stained in brown. The glow of the bulb shows through the layers of paint. A thin white string hangs in long loops from the top of the lampshade.

A close up of an ivory colored cylindrical lampshade with a page of text curved around it. The text appears to be covered with transparent plastic and then splatters and strokes of thin black ink or paint have balled and dried to the surface.

A detail of a lampshade draped with a page of text written by a typewriter. Part of the page is readable after zooming: "Living, screaming, Real, theory of telepathy curating evasion of common production curating For sure you were the best place to be, Instead of pressuring the non-productive artist It inundated his or her suffering with loving honors and affection. C. You are you are the errand boy, errand boy of the melancholy, You are the breakable planet"

An image of a white framed wall work on a white wall. The reflection of the photographer is captured in the glass. The work is a column of text whose type is too small to read even after zooming.

A detail of a white framed wall work on a white wall. The detail has been drawn over with black squiggles of ink. Part of the first line is readable: "White Night The first night. It was a non existence, which I inhabited, so to speak, since I had left ..."

Josef Straudépendance, Brussels

Exhibition Images

Josef Strau
dépendance, Brussels