New Mural: Koen van den Broek at VANDENHOVE Center
Last week, VANDENHOVE Center for Architecture and Art officially inaugurated the artwork Plants, Shadows and Models (Mural) by Koen van den Broek. This monumental wall painting located at the ground floor of the Vandenhove Pavilion completes one of the last designs of Charles Vandenhove with a unique in-situ artwork.
In conjunction with the mural, there is an exhibition on the first floor featuring photos, designs drawings and sketches, complemented by a collection of old and recent works by Koen van den Broek.
Practical Infromation:
Koen van den Broek | Plants, Shadows and Models (Mural)
Curators: Koen van den Broek & Wouter Davidts
Exhibition Design: Rik Claeys
Design: Astrid Berlengé
Photos by Jan Kempenaers
ABOUT Koen van den Broek
Koen van den Broek was born in 1973 in Bree, Belgium
He lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium
Born in 1973 in the Belgian town of Bree, Koen van den Broek first studied architecture and subsequently painting, initially at the Royal Academy of Antwerp and then at the Academy of Visual Arts of Breda. In his opinion, despite his painting studies, he has always remained an architect at heart. Ever since his student days, van den Broek has travelled constantly: around Europe, to the USA, Mexico and even to Korea. Always with his camera close to hand. He takes photos, a lot of photos, which all depict the same subject: the architectural interventions of man on the landscape.
Early in his career, Koen van den Broek developed a fascination for desolate landscapes in which man rarely appears, but always makes his presence felt. He depicts the traces left behind on roads, streets and houses that have been abandoned. The artist’s perception of roads and borders in barren lands has provided the painter with impulses that enable him to make his specific statement on landscape painting. Van den Broek operates by turning his face downwards and zooming in on the irregularities of the pavement, on curb stones and shadows. It is this very search for a subject of representation that led the artist on a journey closer to abstraction.
Works by Koen van den Broek are part of major public collections, including the LACMA, Los Angeles; SMAK, Ghent; M HKA, Antwerp; Busan Museum of Art, Busan; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle. His work has been presented at the Venice Biennial (2015 & 2017); White Cube, London; Kunstmuseum, Bonn; Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp and Brussels; Seoul Arts Centre, Seoul; Kunsthalle, Mannheim; Royal Academy, London; MAS, Antwerp, and Kunsthal, Rotterdam; His work can also be found in numerous public spaces in Belgium, such as the Hofkamer, Antwerp; ‘t Zilte, MAS, Antwerp; AZSM Hospital, Mechelen, and the Provinciehuis, Hasselt.
