KOEN VAN DEN BROEK

The most notable aspect of van den Broek’s paintings are their peculiar compositions, which achieves through prolonged study and effort. Having studied architecture, van den Broek hold a strong interest in spatial form. During trips throughout Europe and the United States, the artist photographs urban scenes paying particular attention to the geometric formations and colors created by roads and by broad, often bleak landscapes.

He has built a particular visual language based upon the observation of building facades and landscapes that are often neglected or forgotten. By analyzing and recombining hundreds of snapshots, van den Broek transforms the images into an abstract forms, essentially projecting new perspectives onto the familiar landscapes.

Koen van den Broek researches the geometric architectural structures found in suburban areas: street signs, parking lots, pavement grids, asphalt cracks, shadows, interchanges, piers and road markings. All human figures are removed from these landscapes to emphasizes lines, planes, and shading. His paintings create new exotic effects far different from the original photos, particularly in his use of sweeping diagonal lines of vivid primary colors that arbitrarily intersect empty, lowly-saturated backgrounds. Although his practice references both Henri Matisse’s bold compositions and Luc Tuymans’ (a master of Belgian contemporary painting) melancholic ambiance, van den Broek has been recognized as a painter who has developed his own unique sense of abstraction. We present the artists’ first solo show in Korea in three years, one that offers viewers a golden opportunity to discover current trends in European contemporary paintings.

Koen van den Broek studied architecture at the Ku Leuven University of Leuven and painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Netherlands Breda Academy of Visual Art, and HISK Flanders. His paintings are held in the collections of prestigious art establishments such as SF MoMA, S.M.A.K, LACMA and the Samsung Museum of Art in Leeum. In 2019, he will have a solo show at BOZAR, one of Europe’s leadings contemporary art museums.