Three cheers for Brecht Vandenbroucke and his masterpiece, White Cube

Date
5 April 2013

We posted some work of Brecht’s a few weeks back and foolishly didn’t comment on his new publication White Cube. Now, we’re not being biased by saying it’s amazing just because Brecht sent us a copy in a hand-painted envelope with a personalised illustration inside (no big deal) — this is genuinely one of the best books we’ve seen all year. White Cube began as a black and white zine but has blossomed into a truly beautiful hardback lump of pleasure. Following two pink-faced men (or as Brecht calls them, The Aesthetic Critics) as they trot gleefully into artistic establishments and deal with contemporary art in a naive yet scathing way, this collection of short comics is both hilarious and – yeah I’m gonna say it – genius.

Something about the relationship between the creepily identical Aesthetic Critics is what makes these stories so hilarious. Brecht says: "They always have an opinion and feel the need to express this, sometimes by destroying the actual art or giving it a thumbs-up (as seen on Facebook). They even continue this into their daily life leading to some bizarre situations.

“The idea was based on how everyone has an opinion on everything these days and needs to share it, so I decided to do something funny with that. I tried to put the importance of the art world into perspective and I also tried to create a book that is very visual. It’s completely hand-painted and there is no dialogue, just a few words here and there.”

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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Brecht Vandenbroucke: White Cube

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About the Author

Liv Siddall

Liv joined It’s Nice That as an intern in 2011 and worked across online, print and events, and was latterly Features Editor before leaving in May 2015.

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