I am an artist (painter/sculptor/fashion designer/furniture designer) based in Belgium. The biggest part of my life up to now, I have spent looking for colours, dimensions , shapes and how they influence us. Why is it that one line or one splash of colour moves us and the other one doesn’t? Maybe it has to do with what Goethe said: Don’t worry too much about the ‘what’, but worry about the ‘how’. That is also the reason I experiment a lot with techniques. I have always been interested in the ‘’crafts’’ of arts. In my search , I came across Venetian Terpentine, which allows me to bring transparency into my work, sometimes in such a degree as if it were watercolour. Which I like, because I think also our reality comes to us in layered surfaces. On the surface of my work, you see people, but if you are going to look into it, you see abstract ‘stains’ , when put together in front of our eyes, have, almost by coincidence, a human shape. As a fashion-and furniture-designer, I try to create designs which transcend time and give the environment of people a quiet atmosphere with the right amount of tension. My designs are influenced by Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. I ususally do different things at the same time, because it clears my head to design clothes while I am painting. It makes me more distant from the painting I am working on, and I keep a ‘’fresh eye’’ on what I am doing. I try to eliminate as much as possible, without simplifying. The essentials have to be there to transfer the message, the right kind of energy so that the viewer can feel how I felt during the process of making the painting. My style evolves without thinking about it. My latest series go back into my history, and my paintings become sometimes drawings which have been painted. I built up a good knowledge in the past to mix my techniques in such a way that they are still going to resist time. The canvas I use is Belgian Linen, prepared by hand. The blanks on the canvas show my admiration for Chinese painting. The principle of ’’Wu Wei ‘’(to generate a maximum impact with a minimum of force) becomes very real in my paintings.
As you will notice on the titles of my work, I am a big music fan: no paintings without music….
Interested in what I do and did besides painting? Take a look at : www.awa.be
Events & Exhibitions
STUDIO AND GALLERY artist's studio and gallery: Beekstraat 9, 1570 Vollezele on appointment only: wim@awa.be 0478 96 10 37
POP-UP EXPO CENTRUM GENT 8 mei 2020 tot 25 mei 2020 Hof Ryhove, Onderstraat 20 , 9000 Gent
OZZ BARCELONA concept store tot 30 september 2018 Carrer dels Banys Vells, 8, 08003 Barcelona, Spain www.ozzbarcelona.com
GALERIE PJEZ UNIK Verschillende werken permanent in collectie Kloosterstraat 112, 2000 Antwerpen http://www.pjezunik.com/
ARTIST RESIDENCY April 5 untill may 6 2020 on the Isle of Rhodos
SCOUTING GALLERY LOCUS based in Washington on exhibition on different locations in USA