I smell and I taste. I like it or I don’t like it after all. I look and I feel. How beautiful this is or how ever so ugly. It excites me or puts me off. I decide whether it is good or bad. I have good taste!
The taste is the verdict of our sensory perception. It is a personal opinion after chemical components stimulated the taste buds. It is the result of the processing of the visual information we receive after our observations.
But is my subjective preference really indisputable? Do external factors not affect my sensory perception? How subjective am I or how objective can I be in my subjectivity? How do I develop my preference and how does aversion arise? What is beauty? What is exquisite, delicious and exciting for one, can be ugly, distasteful or repulsive for the other. What is considered hip today will be ‘passé’ tomorrow. What is defined as old-fashioned now may be trendy again soon. What is collectable and what is disposable?
Glass is essentially an old and entirely tasteless material. The taste of glass is non-existent. It does not have a taste, but it flavours. Glass is the material determining the taste and the shape of its contents.
The exhibition ‘The Taste of Glass’ confronted historical glasswork with contemporary artwork. It examined the influence of form on perception. It calculated the proportion between content and container. This was a taste investigation about typology and oenology, about empty bottles and broken glasses, about hamburgers and carrots.
Curator:
Jeroen Maes (BE)
Artists/designers:
Maria ROOSEN (NL), Joan CROUS (IT), Anne-Lise RIONO SIBONY (FR), Yvon TROSSÈL (NL), Miia VIRTASALMI (FIN/CAN), Katharine COLEMAN (GB), John MILLER (USA), Bas VAN BEEK (NL), Silvia LEVENSON (IT), KNOL (NL), Etienne MENEAU (FR)
In cooperation with:
ZILVERMUSEUM STERKSHOF –Deurne (B), MUSÉE DU VERRE –Charleroi (B), MUSÉE DÉPARTEMENTAL DU VERRE -Sars Potteries (FR), MUSEUM BOIJMANS VAN BEUNINGEN –Rotterdam (NL), HET PIJPENKABINET –Amsterdam (NL), MEYHUI –Kortrijk (B), B.O.N. –Novy Bor (CZ), HET PALEIS –Antwerpen (B)
