SPIN CYCLE features recent paintings in small and large formats, including Maya Hayuk’s signature abstract stripe pattern, ‘stripes’.

The exhibition features recent paintings in small and large formats, including Maya Hayuk’s signature abstract ‘stripe’ pattern paintings.Aesthetically speaking, your eyes are the judges. The lines and colors play a melody in a way that may or may not move you. The rest, her Ukrainian roots, her political and feminist activism, the influence of music, her persevering artistic journey, her place among her peers and her sharp mind - is a tangle that historians will enjoy unraveling in the future... Unless this profession disappears with the rising waters.

For this reason alone, let’s remember: Maya Hayuk’s first exhibition in Brussels dates from 2008 in our former gallery on Rue Dansaert. Since then, the American feminist and peace activist has become a canonical figure in the world of mural painting, while forging strong links with Europe, and particularly Belgium. Over the past ten years, the kingdom has invited her to participate in large-scale art events from North to South: 2014 ‘Asphalt’ biennial in Charleroi, 2016 MIMA inauguration, a TEDx talk at CAD, Brussels in 2018 and The Crystal Ship 2022 in Ostend.

The longevity and rigor of an artistic work allow us to measure its real contribution to society. This true recognition, which only time grants, does not come without going through the three stages of a revolution described by the German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer: ridiculous, dangerous, obvious. This was the case in the early 2000s for all the artists who, like her, intervened in the public space more or less legally, and who were labeled with the nicely ridiculous label of street artists as opposed to real artists in art galleries. Added to this is the ‘aggravating’ factor for Maya Hayuk of being a woman in a testosterone-driven environment at the time. Secondly, these artists became dangerous in the eyes of the contemporary art world when, with the help of popular success, they had the audacity to carve out a share of the market. Finally, their contribution to society has become obvious, as their impact has changed the cultural field. More precisely, these artists are above all a manifestation of the profound societal revolution that has accelerated with the age of the Internet.

Having entered the imaginary pantheon of our sacred artists, perhaps the most singular mark of recognition received for Maya Hayuk has been the invitation in 2021 from The MIT Master of Architecture Program to share her expertise on public art engagement, materials and process with its students for the fall semester. This means that the priests of the temple of contemporary knowledge see her work as a source of knowledge to be tapped in order to imagine the future of architecture. The world hasn’t stopped turning, all right. But this lecture has the air of a tribute for those who intervene in the perception of architecture armed only with their brushes.

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Opening on September 22th
Exhibition from September 23th till October 22nd