Ghent / Antwerp - S.M.A.K. / Royal Museum of Fine Arts - Koen van den Broek

Belgian artist Koen van den Broek (b. 1973, Bree) finds his inspiration in 'being en route' and his work is nurtured by dozens of road trips. Using his own snapshots the artist creates the basis for his paintings, and in a manner that is to the point and functional. Unlike a sketchbook, the photographic images serve only as a reminder and record interesting lines, structures and twists in the landscape he has observed. They are only formal recollections of what he has perceived and have little or no emotional value. The recordings appear to 'reject' being en route'. 

What interest the artist are the small segments of reality which most of us seem not to really notice. A kerb, a collection of shadows on the road suggesting the presence of a truck, a barren, snow-covered forest landscape, a simple house with a special emphasis on the trivial garage door, a motorway with an interesting yet stereotype curve in the landscape, and cracks in the asphalt which nobody notices. He focuses on his subject in such a way that it becomes trivial.

S.M.A.K. - CURBS & CRACKS
January 30 - May 16, 2010

The exhibition Curbs & Cracks shows a selection of existing work by Koen van den Broek linked to a series of new paintings. The whole is developed around delineated clusters of works, choices that are substantiated purely formally and thematically as well as regarding content. Recent creations react to existing work, act within the body of work as a catalyst that nurtures and strengthens the whole, or precisely in contrast to this, acts as a virus that infects and weakens all the carefully developed patterns.

ROYAL MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS - WORK ON PAPER (2009)
January 22 - February 28, 2010

Almost  concurrently,  the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp will, for the very first time, be showcasing his work on paper. The pieces included in this exhibition are works in their own right, not studies for other paintings. Moreover, it is very recent work, created in 2009 during stays in the South of France and Los Angeles. In this fine selection of around twenty paintings, Van den Broek shows himself to be a master colourist. The subject matter is often anonymous, almost trivial, and it tends to convey a sense of transience, yet in combination with the unusual framing and Van den Broek's swift style, these compositions of line and colour assume a mysterious and intriguing quality.

More information:
www.kmska.be/...
www.smak.be/...

Image: Koen van den Broek, Broken Yellow Border, 2003, oil on canvas, 195 x 130 cm, Private Collection London