02/04/2026
how to see
Robert Filliou
March 7 – April 15, 2026
Opening Saturday, March 7, 4–8 pm
“Robert Filliou is one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Perhaps it takes the 21st century to realize this.” These clear words were written by the curator Anders Kreuger about the “playwright, poet, artist and thinker” Robert Filliou. In 2017, Kreuger curates an important retrospective at M HKA in Antwerp titled The Secret of Permanent Creation, accompanied by an outstanding publication. It is the fourth retrospective devoted to Filliou since 1984 and the first after twelve years. Despite the fact that Filliou’s activities as well as his retrospectives after his death in 1987 date long time back, Kreuger notes that “it never felt as if we were working with histori- cal material. Filliou’s thought and work speak directly to us today.” He emphasizes Filliou’s contemporary importance: “He is a voice for our time, speaking of the political and poetic economy, of curiosity and research as more than ‘a privilege for those who already know.’” Kreuger summarizes what makes Filliou so singular, “he is trying out new names for what he is doing and making. Instead of making art, he speaks of Permanent Creation, the Genial Re- public of Research.” Kreuger calls this extraordinary capacity of Filliou “systematically free thinking.”
Porta Filliou, produced in 1977 during an Arton’s residency in Calgary by Filliou together with Marcella Bien- venue and Clive Robertson. Porta Filliou functions as a video supplement to Filliou’s book Teaching and Learning as Performing Arts (1970). Visitors will also be able to listen to the work Whispered History of Art (1963). We aim to offer with this show an informative yet entertaining introduction to the art and innovative thinking of Filliou.
