Belgian Painter Walter Swennen Dies at 79

Walter Swennen 1946-2025, Belgium Follow +

Renowned Belgian painter Walter Swennen, who drew on diverse ideas from language, philosophy, and psychology in his work, has passed away at the age of 79. 

Belgian art dealer Xavier Hufkens announced the painter’s death on Saturday, saying Swennen ‘created a singular body of work that continually pushed the boundaries of painting’. 

Swennen was widely considered one of Belgium’s most seminal artists, believing that painting should be free from imposed meaning.

Born in Brussels in 1946, Swennen’s artistic roots lay in poetry and performance before he embraced painting in the late 1970s—a medium that would define his practice in the decades to come. 

With an academic background in philosophy, etching, and psychology, he developed an oeuvre rich in freely associative visual motifs. Over the years, Swennen grew concerned with the limitations and potential of painting, and resisted the belief that an artwork had to be understood. 

This gave rise to a deconstructive creative process that saw Swennen work in layers: first beginning by working on supports made from found objects, before placing imagery—frequently references to pop culture or recognisable everyday objects—atop a series of paint colours and textures. 

‘Because for me, it’s important to always know and think that to paint is a physical activity,’ Swennen explained, in the lead up to his 2023 show, What the body can do, at Xavier Hufkens.

‘All you care about is finding a place where there’s no paint yet, you see.’

Swennen’s unconventional practice earned him a major retrospective at the Kunstmuseum Bonn (2021), which then travelled to Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (2021) and Kunst Museum Winterthur (2022). Solo exhibitions at La Triennale di Milano, Milan (2018), Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf (2015), and WIELS, Brussels (2013–2014) cemented his significance in the contemporary art world. 

Hufkens said the painter’s passing was an immense loss, both personally and artistically.

‘He was a dear friend and a true visionary, whose thinking was as uncompromising as it was free. We will miss him profoundly, but his spirit will endure, inspiring and challenging generations to come.’ —[O]

Main image: Walter Swennen, Bleu Descartes (2019). Oil on canvas. 76.5 × 101 cm. Courtesy the Artist and Xavier Hufkens, Brussels.