ROGER LAUTE

Roger does not exhibit his work a lot, however, in the last three years he presented at three different exhibitions. In 2013 it was on a collective exhibition Cats in Nepomuk (a town in the Czech Republic), where were displayed also other forms of art like ceramics or paintings. Next exhibition was in 2014 at the Art School of Sint Lucas in Antwerp on the occasion of a congress about finances. On this exhibition he presented his cycle Bank Robbery that shows the interior of the former National bank in Antwerp. Rather special thing about this cycle of photos is that they are digital and in colour, a type of photography that represent minority in Roger's work. The exhibition that is the most important for the author is the last one with the name Roger stuurt zijn kat…, which took place from June 8 until July 4 2015 in De Dikke Kat café in Antwerp. The main and only subject of the photos displayed was a cat – Roger's favourite animal.

 

That is also obvious from the name of this exhibition – this Dutch idiom is used, when someone does not show up to an arranged meeting, however in the context of the exhibition it could be taken literally, and so Roger sends his cat…. The exhibition fitted perfectly with its main subject to the venue where it took place. The café De Dikke Kat (The Fat Cat) is not only a place where you can enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, a dessert, breakfast or lunch but it is also a venue for various exhibitions. Relatively homely environment with old-fashioned furniture and decorations complements the homely nature of a cat.

 

Actually, this exhibition was a goodbye present from the colleagues from the Art School of Sint Lucas in Antwerp, where Roger taught photography for 36 years. The colleagues also took care of the poster and invitations for the event. The photo used for the poster comes from Roger’s good friend Peter Verbruggen, who once took a picture of him in front of a window with curtains with a cat motive.

 

According to Roger it was not a proper vernissage but a friendly meeting with few colleagues and friends. Some of them were also on the displayed photos. For this occasion, Roger prepared a booklet De Kat en Fotografie, where he writes about the relation between a cat and photography. In the exhibition it was also possible to buy postcards with Roger’s photos.

 

The exhibition lasted for a month and it was finished with a finissage.