Hans Op de Beeck: The Drawing Room

In a muted setting conceived by the artist, the exhibition will present a series of drawings and previously unseen watercolours, as well as a film produced for the occasion. One of the major figures on the current artistic scene, Hans Op de Beeck is the creator of a deeply poetic and troubling body of work.

Using a palette reduced to black alone, the artist reveals a night-time world, dominated by silence and tranquillity. Time seems to give way in his vertiginous urban backdrops, foggy horizons or confined interiors. Each and every one arouses a disconcerting sense of both familiarity and strangeness.

Moving away from a strict representation of reality in favour of a more cerebral dimension, his landscapes resemble mental images rather than specific places. They evoke states of mind, which can be accessed by means of gentle immersion. By dissolving the borders between the unknown and the intimate, blurring distances and identities, Hans Op de Beeck’s work is a veritable invitation to introspection.

In the manner of still lifes and vanitas, his seductive compositions subtly transport the gaze above and beyond the superficial and, without wallowing in nostalgic romanticism, question the absurdity of our day-to-day existence.