Artists

Stan Van Steendam challenges our ideas of tradition and modernity. It reflects the intimacy that exists between the artist and his craft, his materials and the emotions and sensations that are embodied in his thoughtful creations.

His practice aims to deconstruct the materiality of painting, which he explores through a process of layering raw pigments, plaster and other materials such as ash, earth and dust. Wanting to be close to his materials and to control their traces and movements, he works mainly with his bare hands. By elevating the creative process in his pieces and working with his body to treat the material in a sculptural way, he is questioning the notions of the limits of painting and sculpture and our preconceptions of art.

This attitude allows him to propose new approaches to tradition and makes his work coexist with history in a way that is as reflexive as it is homage. Van Steendam, who lives and works between Brussels and Portugal, draws his inspiration from classical painting and the work of other artists, but also from the places where he lives and from nature, from lakes, water, cork oaks and dusty roads.