Bart Slangen

Bart Slangen (Maaseik, 1969) studied free graphics at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent. In his work, Slangen deliberately obscures what is nearly perfect, guided by the idea that art should not depict the visible world but rather anticipate it. He seeks out shadows, twilight, and the calm shelter of darkness. Slangen leads us into the estrangement of what is called reality, evoking a desolation of things that exist outside of time and place. Bart keenly observes fleeting impressions, framing them beforehand, and then repaints them in a blurred, even underpainted manner. His works seem more about disappearance than appearance, conveying on canvas a melancholy longing for beauty and purity, along with a desire for perfection. Yet this perfection turns away from superficiality, instead hiding beneath or behind a clouded surface, protected and concealed.