Ria Verhaeghe Biography

Ria Verhaeghe is a Belgian artist living and working in Bruges. Her oeuvre spans across painting, sculpture, drawing, collage and video, primarily concerned with giving new importance to images and photographs of death and tragedy found in newspapers that are often quickly discarded and forgotten.

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For the last thirty years, Verhaeghe has been assembling an image database called Provisoria, in which approximately 60.000 images are ordered according to a personal bookkeeping system (or 'matrix') of keywords, colours, dates and groups. Through this collection, she aims to conserve, present and re-contextualise these images within new frameworks of meaning and significance.

The _Provisoria _collection forms the nucleus of Verhaeghe's practice and serves as an important inspiration for numerous other works. These cover a wide range of techniques and media, including painting (such as the Verticals), drawing, collage, sculptures (such as the Prayer and Cuddle sculptures) and experimental video. Provisoria was presented at various exhibitions, including a solo exhibition at the Museum of Photography in Antwerp (2008) and at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies Barcelona (Alma Matrix Bracha L.Ettinger and Ria Verhaeghe; 2010).

As a mostly self-taught artist, Verhaeghe's work is heavily influenced by her studies in music history and professional background as a nurse. Her practice has a strong focus on public projects, participation and collaboration with different groups and audiences, such as young people, adults, senior citizens, refugees and prisoners.

Notable solo and duo presentations include: Panta Rhei, Spiegelrei, Be-Part, Waregem, Belgium (2023); Verticals, Installation in room of Medieval Art, Museum of Fine Arts (MSK), Ghent, Belgium (2022); Dismembered newspapers, Galerie C. De Vos, Aalst, Belgium (2013); Alma Matrix, Bracha L. Ettinger and Ria Verhaeghe, Antoni Tapies Foundation, Barcelona, Spain (2010); Kunstenaar te gast, Cultureel Centrum, Hasselt, Belgium (1998) and Niettegenstaande de tijd_,_ Gele Zaal, Ghent, Belgium (1992). Selected group presentations include: (un)common values, National Bank of Belgium, Brussel, Belgium (2022); Panta Rhei – Spiegelrei. Work in progress, in collaboration with Jasper Rigole, Museum Dr Guislain Ghent, Belgium (2020); Work for Vertical, 5th Biennale of Moscow, Moscow, Russia (2013); A__ll our relation__s, 18th Biennale of Sydney, Sydney, Australia (2012) and Screening: l'eau 's écrit, Grand Tour, Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Ghent, Belgium (2003) among others.

Text courtesy Richard Saltoun Gallery.

Ria Verhaeghe
featured artworks

Vertical 22.681 by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting
Ria Verhaeghe Vertical 22.681, 2013 Collage, oil, resin and gold leaf on board
25 x 19 x 2 cm
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Hibiscus Syriacus 8 by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, sculpture, photography, print
Ria Verhaeghe Hibiscus Syriacus 8, 2017 Collage, oil, resin, flower petals, gold leaf on board
25 x 19 x 2 cm
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Hibiscus Syriacus 7 by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, sculpture, photography, print
Ria Verhaeghe Hibiscus Syriacus 7, 2017 Collage, oil, resin, flower petals, gold leaf on board
19 x 25 x 2 cm
Richard Saltoun Gallery Request Price & Availability
Vertical 23.071 by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, sculpture, photography, print
Ria Verhaeghe Vertical 23.071, 2013 Collage, oil, resin and gold leaf on board
25 x 19 x 2 cm
Richard Saltoun Gallery Request Price & Availability
Prayer sculpture with purple silk by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting, sculpture
Ria Verhaeghe Prayer sculpture with purple silk, 2018 Newspaper, silk and latex
18 x 18 x 16 cm
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Prayer sculpture for Vertical nr 3 by Ria Verhaeghe contemporary artwork painting, sculpture
Ria Verhaeghe Prayer sculpture for Vertical nr 3, 2018 Newspaper, fabric, latex and gold leaf
25 x 35 x 15 cm
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