Koen Van den Broek
(Bree,
1973 )
Koen Van den Broek first studied Architecture and then Painting in Antwerp and Breda. His paintings are graphically pared-down adaptations of photographs he has taken of the urban environment during road trips. These snapshots are usually just formal cues for a striking perspective and alienating framing. Van den Broek’s works zoom in on trivial details, boundary motifs determine the structure of the image. Kerbs, gutters and cracks in a road surface, as well as shadows and corners of buildings or bridges, push the boundaries of the canvas and delineate spaces that gain pictorial autonomy as fields of colour. Van den Broek researches the perception of space and the possibilities of the pictorial surface. He reduces his subjects to their essence with modest resources, exploring the boundary where the figurative becomes the abstract. In 2010, Van den Broek had a solo exhibition at Antwerp’s KMSKA and, with Curbs and Cracks, a first retrospective at Ghent’s S.M.A.K.
