Stefan De Jaeger/Stéphane Janssen “Connivences” at ASU Art Museum

TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State University Art Museum announced today the opening of “Connivences: Stefan De Jaeger / Stéphane Janssen, A history of art, family, and friends,” from March 3 to May 12, 2007. The opening reception will take place on April 13, 2007, 7-9 pm.

Stéphane Janssen, among the world’s leading collectors of contemporary art, commissioned photographer Stefan De Jaeger to create an ongoing series of portraits of his friends, family, and major artists whose work he collects. Twenty years in the making, these “connivences” capture the extraordinary rapport that Janssen enjoys with these artists, conveyed by De Jaeger’s ability to capture the qualities of each individual in the silent language of the image.

The first major U.S. exhibition of De Jaeger’s works, this show presents nearly 40 collaged-Polaroid compositions creating dynamic tableaux of subjects and their personal environments. De Jaeger’s technique is to photograph the individual in fragments, from different perspectives and over time, building up each portrait piece by piece. His work thus communicates a contemporary notion of the self as a protean being, moving and changing even as it is being defined. Karel Appel, Pierre Alechinsky, Joel-Peter Witkin. Duane Michals, and Anthony Goicolea are just a few of the renowned artists whose life and work are celebrated in De Jaeger’s fascinating portraits. Stefan De Jaeger was the first to create collaged-Polaroid composition work in 1979.

“I was introduced to Stefan by Hergé, a famous cartoonist and creator of Tintin. This exhibition represents Stefan’s portraits of my family, friends and the people around me since then,” said Stéphane Janssen. “What impressed me most after his first portrait for me in 1983 still impresses me about Stefan – he is intuitive and intense – a true artist, he possesses the ability to transform images into art, not craft. It takes Stefan hours to do a portrait since he reaches the soul of people. Amazingly, in his work, Stefan often reveals things that I don’t immediately see in people, but I discover later that his portrayal was correct. His work is not cliché, and this is why I love it.”

A longtime benefactor of the ASU Art Museum, Stéphane Janssen is rare among collectors for his commitment to both the art and artist over a lifetime. This passionate appreciation is evident in the lively audio commentary Janssen has prepared about the exhibition, providing each museum visitor a “personal” tour of the show that may be accessed by iPod or cell phone.

“I believe that Stéphane’s strong loyalty to the ASU Art Museum stems from his admiration of our willingness to engage issues, often tough issues, in the work we show and the concepts we address,” said Marilyn Zeitlin, Director of ASU Art Museum. “Our educational mission is crucial for him – we are a training ground in which young people can learn the wonderful habit of loving and enjoying art, something that will stay with them all their lives. Stéphane and I agree that making art available to a broad audience is not just a question of education in the conventional sense, it is a matter of finding the thrill of discovery in art and ideas.”

The book Connivences: Stefan De Jaeger / Stéphane Janssen, A history of art, family, and friends is available at the ASU Art Museum store for $65 (non members) and $40 (members).

The ASU Art Museum, named “the single most impressive venue for contemporary art in Arizona” by Art in America, is part of the Herberger College of Fine Arts at Arizona State University. The museum is located on the southeast corner of Mill Avenue and 10th Street in Tempe and entry is free. Hours are 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and until 9 p.m. Tuesdays during the academic year. For more information, call 480-965-2787 or visit the museum online at http://asuartmuseum.asu.edu.

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Connivence – To exchange a smile, a sign of complicity. To understand someone spontaneously, often tacitly.

Media Contact:

Nancy Scott Lyon, Oxygen/PR 
602-663-7909
nancyscottlyon@yahoo.com

Laura Toussaint
480.965.8796
Laura.Toussaint@asu.edu