Hans Op de Beeck: Whispered Tales

Hans Op de Beeck, 55, is known for his monumental, often monochrome, sculptural installations that plunge visitors into silent and introspective universes. His distinctive body of work explores temporality, memory and the human condition. He uses a minimalist aesthetic to evoke scenes, both familiar and mysterious, where the apparent simplicity of the form masks an emotional complexity.

In creating fictitious interiors, outdoor scenes, still lives and human figures seemingly frozen in time he seeks to capture suspended moments, fragments of life, lying outside linear narrative. This approach and its treatment of the human body and of spaces embraces the legacy of both classical sculpture as well as cinematographic imagery, while distancing itself from that same legacy with forms of abstraction in its representations. In contrast to classical statuary and its glorification of the individual or divinity, Op de Beeck strives to express the fleeting nature of existence, opting for a form of universal melancholic anonymity.

The exhibition is designed as a cabinet of curiosities, imbued with the subtle presence of the marvellous, rooted not in a sense of whimsy but rather in the sculptures’ capacity to distort reality and create a dreamlike atmosphere. His sculptural works with their soft, velvety monochrome skin, alongside his new black and white animated film and watercolour paintings, amplify the sensation of worlds suspended in time and space. The viewer is invited to partake in a form of active contemplation, discovering in turn a seated little girl with angel’s wings lost in her thoughts, a classic display cabinet showing a nocturnal pier with a Ferris wheel under a starry sky, or a life size enigmatic horseman with a little monkey on his shoulder holding a parasol over his head.

The way the artist plays with the perception of scale and atmosphere sparks a disconnect, a feeling of strangeness when confronted with scenes lifted out of the ordinary. Each work offers us the seed of yet another possible story. With his characteristic grey tones and carefully thought-out staging, Hans Op de Beeck transforms the prosaic into an almost magical experience where simplicity gives birth to the unexpected.