Striking a balance between lightness and seriousness, this Winter Issue of GLEAN offers plenty of in-depth reflection as well as a glimpse of what lies around the corner.

Guest Editor: Oscar Murillo
For each issue, GLEAN invites a Guest Editor to curate a section of the magazine. We interview them and ask them to invite three writers or artists who have influenced their practice (or who otherwise deserve our attention) to take up space in our pages. Oscar Murillo (1986, La Paila, Colombia) lives and works between London, La Paila and (since recently) Brussels. On the occasion of his first solo show at WIELS in Brussels, titled ‘Masses’, which opens in February 2024, we asked him to serve as Guest Editor for our Winter Issue. Murillo asked curator and researcher Renan Laru-an and writer and producer Anna T. Pigott to contribute texts. Artist and writer Rene Matic provided a visual contribution.

Studio Visit: Che Go Eun
Finding an affordable and suitable studio space is perhaps one of the greatest challenges a young artist faces. Not only does there seem to be a shortage of adequate infrastructure in densely populated cities such as Antwerp or Brussels, but the rental prices are also very high. Level Five VZW is an artist cooperative managing several studio spaces in Brussels. Tamara Beheydt visited artist Che Go Eun in her shared studio space at Level Five’s location next to WIELS Contemporary Art Centre.

The Artist’s Library
Each issue, Els Roelandt delves into the personal library of an artist for the Artist’s Library – a column celebrating books and their writers, editors, publishers, designers and readers. For this month’s contribution, she visited Olivia Plender in Stockholm on a dark afternoon in November. The two browsed and discussed Plender’s impressive library, which contains many titles related to plants, feminism and books by and on women who are carrying on the struggle to dismantle patriarchal structures.

Hana Miletic
Having transitioned from a kind of street photography to weaving, Hana Miletic embraces the act of reproduction. Her work with textiles has evolved into an embodied and social practice. Miletic contributed the cover images for this Winter Issue, which are also being printed as a limited GLEAN artist’s edition. María Inés Rodríguez, director of the Walter Leblanc Foundation in Brussels, met up with the artist, who is gearing up for a busy season. Miletic’s work is on view in no fewer than four group shows across Europe and her first solo exhibition in the US will open next spring.