Copyright Bookshop Ghent


Gewad,Ghent, Centre for Contemporary Art

1984

The first bookshop shared a building with an art institution an a ballet school.

The ‘Gewad, Centre for Contemporary Art’,as it soon came to be known, was founded in 1981 by (among others) Jan Debbaut (then curator of the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven), collector Anton Herbert and gallery owner Joost De Clercq.

Even at that early time, the art centre mounted exhibitions of the work of Sol LeWitt, Rebecca Horn, Daniel Buren, Lawrence Weiner, Juan Muñoz, Cindy Sherman, Thierry De Cordier, Gilbert & George and others.

The years at the Gewad were an interesting apprenticeship. They brought me into contact with numerous artists and because the shop was never very busy, I had the time to read about contemporary art and architecture. My boyfriend Johan Boeykens helped me whenever he could.

In the bookshop we sometimes organized small exhibitions with young artists like Patrick Van Caeckenbergh and at regular intervals we would send out little magazines containing book reviews and information about new titles.

In those pre-digital days these were still produced by photocopying, cutting and pasting.

<p>Gilbert & George, at the entrance of the Gewad building with Ms. and Mr. Reprils of the Vega gallery from Liège and to the right  Lieven and Niklaas Van Den Abeele.<br /> (foto Paul Van Den Abeele)</p>

Gilbert & George, at the entrance of the Gewad building with Ms. and Mr. Reprils of the Vega gallery from Liège and to the right  Lieven and Niklaas Van Den Abeele.
(foto Paul Van Den Abeele)

<p>Gilbert & George in the exhibition space “Gewad”(1982)</p>

Gilbert & George in the exhibition space “Gewad”(1982)

<p>Me in front of a painting by Georg Immendorf in the Gewad.</p>

Me in front of a painting by Georg Immendorf in the Gewad.

<p>It was the time before computer, fax and e-mail. We had only a writing machine.</p>

It was the time before computer, fax and e-mail. We had only a writing machine.

<p>1984: me and Johan with the book  “L’idiot de la famille” by J.P.Sartre, an allusion of the photograph by artist Jan Vercruysse, who worked in the bookshop before I took it over.</p>

1984: me and Johan with the book  “L’idiot de la famille” by J.P.Sartre, an allusion of the photograph by artist Jan Vercruysse, who worked in the bookshop before I took it over.

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