Deurle 11/7/73

In the summer of 1973, Fernand Spillemaeckers from the Brussels gallery MTL organized a remarkable exhibition at the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, named Deurle 11/7/73. This exhibition was held on the occasion of a congress on art and its cultural context in Ter Kameren, Brussels, involving prominent artists such as Carl André, Art & Language, Marcel Broodthaers, Daniël Buren, Cadere, Hans Haacke, Sol LeWitt, Niele Toroni, and Lawrence Weiner.

The exhibition in Deurle consisted of submitted documents about these artists, along with a piece called Barre de bois rond by André Cadere. A catalog with the same name was also published.

There were no traces of this exhibition found in the MDD archives. To fill this gap and highlight the crucial role of this groundbreaking exhibition, a new presentation has been set up to reconstruct what was displayed at that time.

This new presentation also aims to prompt further study into the activities of MTL. Display cases feature documents, publications from MTL, invitation cards, correspondence, and Flash Art publications related to the original exhibition. Attention is also given to André Cadere, whose unannounced additions of his Barre de bois rond to exhibitions became an art form in their own right.

Originally, Deurle 11/7/73 was jointly organized by Fernand Spillemaeckers, Anny De Decker, Paul Maenz, and Marc Poirier dit Caulier. However, due to conflicts, the latter three withdrew and even distanced themselves from the exhibition, claiming it never took place.

To better understand the context, it is important to know that there were two significant groups active in the 1970s: on one side, Wide White Space, led by Anny De Decker and Bernd Lohaus, and on the other side, MTL, led by Fernand Spillemaeckers.

Although the activities of MTL have been poorly documented so far, this gallery played a crucial role as a meeting place for artists such as Marcel Broodthaers, Jacques Charlier, and André Cadere.