Taking place during Antwerp Art Weekend at the former Palace of Justice in Borgerhout, Ballroom Project is an initiative of Antwerp based galleries Base-Alpha Gallery and DMW Gallery. For this sixth edition, the alternative fair collaborates with critic, teacher, researcher and curator Pieter Vermeulen. We will show work by Natacha Mankowski and Dodi Espinosa.

Trained at the École Spéciale d’Architecture in Paris, Natacha Mankowski (Paris, FR, 1986) worked as an architect alongside Jean Nouvel and Vito Acconci before turning to painting. Her architectural background still resonates strongly in her paintings. Defying the boundaries between different artistic disciplines, Mankowski’s work is characterized by an exuberant use of the impasto technique. The way she employs this technique allows her to create textural and spatial structures in her paintings that moves them into the realm of sculpture. In her new work Natacha Mankowski has intensified this spatial and sculptural effect by working with larger formats. With many of these new paintings weighing 15 to 20 kilograms and more, they acquire a singular sense of gravity and presence; indeed, these paintings are objects that themselves inhabit a space alongside the viewers.

Dodi Espinosa (MX, 1985) is an interdisciplinary artist originating from the vibrant heart of Mexico City, where the colourful tapestry of archeology, shamanism and syncretism shaped his worldview and artistic sensibility. Now a Belgian citizen he calls Antwerp his home. His creations encompass performance, installation, objects, painting, workshops, among others. Each infused with inspirations from archaeology, sacral art, pop and indigenous cultures, and his characteristic tongue in cheek.