Jan Fabre popular in St. Petersburg
The retrospective exhibition by Jan Fabre held in the Hermitage in St. Petersburg ended as a great success: a grand total of 1,160,000 visitors came to admire his work.
The Jan Fabre exhibition: Knight of despair / Warrior of beauty ran from 22 October 2016 to 9 April 2017 in the acclaimed museum. Fabre created over 200 works of art for the occasion, including sculptures of beetles, masks and stuffed animals. The works were on show in the Winter Palace and part of the General Staff Building.
Despite the many visitors the exhibition did receive a certain amount of criticism. The use of dead animals in particular led to some negative reactions. The museum was obliged to defend Jan Fabre by explaining that the works were created using animals that were found dead at the roadside. “By using them in his art, Fabre wished to help them rise above death and give them a new lease of life,” according to the museum.