Crux Galerie is delighted to present, from November 11, 2026, the second solo exhibition by the visionary Flemish artist Jan Fabre, curated by art historian Katerina Koskina, titled Jan Fabre. Thinking Models & Night Diary Drawings.
The exhibition aims to provide viewers with an insight into Fabre's thought process, revealing his enduring engagement with themes such as artistic freedom, the imperative to protect art, and the significance of memory and lived experience. Within the gallery space, two bodies of work dating from the 1990s enter into dialogue.
As noted by the curator: "The four Thinking Models are characterized by the use of mixed media, with cement as their primary material. In essence, the Thinking Models are presented as rooms inaccessible to anyone—a kind of personal mental sanctuary in which the artist presents visionary plans for the protection of art and its people. These works simultaneously reveal his complex modes of thought and hold a particularly significant place in his oeuvre, as they were created at the onset of his artistic maturity and remain relevant today. Moreover, they largely represent 'crystallizations' of his lived experiences and intentions. This series began in the early 1990s when, as a young artist, he offered shelter in his studio to Chilean migrants. These four works were shown in 2006 at the Flemish Parliament in Brussels as part of the exhibition Denkmodellen (Thinking Models), curated by Flor Bex, marking their only public presentation prior to this exhibition at Crux Galerie."
"The common denominator of both series is the search for the thread connecting the artist's occult, private microcosms to the artworks. While the Thinking Models evoke enclosed, underground spaces of shelter for protection and contemplation, the Night Diary Drawings expose the artist's thoughts and reflections through words and images. Both bodies of work function as periscopes into inaccessible realms, challenging the viewer to discover the secret and ineffable bond between the artist's inner world and his creative practice."
Regarding the Night Diary Drawings series, the curator notes: "Jan Fabre is the first artist to have systematically and continuously used the ordinary Bic pen to create works of art, a practice he has maintained to this day, beginning in the late 1970s when he was not yet 20 years old. Although his choice was initially driven by financial and practical reasons—since using a Bic pen on paper provided an affordable and manageable medium of expression—he went on to develop this practice into far more complex works, large-scale installations, poetic actions, and even performances, paving the way for many other artists.
The monochromatic works in this series can be understood as the artist's 'aphorisms'—reflections on art, its function, and its role. These works are being exhibited for the first time at Crux and are part of the ongoing Night Diary Drawings series, a continuous endeavor of literary and visual creation that began in the late 1970s and continues to this day."
