The Belgian artist Jan Fabre (1958) is one of the most innovative and important figures on the international contemporary art scene. As a visual artist, theatre-artist and author he has created a highly personal world.

Stigmata – Actions & Performances 1976–2017, curated by the influential Italian art historian and curator Germano Celant, ranges from Fabre’s early performances, such as Money Performance (1979), IIad of the Bic Art Room (1981) and Sanguis / Mantis (2001) to I am a Mistake (2017) and many others, some of which were created with fellow artists (Marina Abramovic or Ilya Kabakov), philosophers (Dietmar Kamper, Peter Sloterdijk) and major scientists (Edward O. Wilson or Giacomo Rizzolatti).

In a unique setting, the exhibition consists of an incredibly rich body of work that presents a picture of the last 40 years of Fabre’s performance oeuvre.

The architecture behind the exhibition can be seen as a radical expansion of Fabre’s early installation Objects to break in and to fight (1978), in which he shows the tools used in this performance on his work-table (a sheet of glass on two wooden trestles).

In a labyrinth of tables, the exhibition comprises thinking models, drawings, costumes, photographs, films, video recordings and archival material as well as extracts from Fabre’s Night Diaries.