ABSTRACTION AS AN EXPANSION OF REALITY
Belgian artist Philippe Van Gele explores how abstraction can expand reality. Rather than depicting the world as it is, he reshapes it, offering new ways to perceive and reimagine our surroundings. His landscapes evoke distant, almost mythical places — Svalbard, Yosemite, and other foreign realms. With titles that hint at unknown territories, the viewer is invited to project personal wanderlust and dreamscapes onto the work.
HAZY EVOCATIVE VS POWERFUL EXPRESSIVE
Working mainly with acrylics, Van Gele builds layers that are dripped, scratched, and reworked to create hazy yet expressive surfaces. Aqueous shimmers and glowing skies emerge with lyrical softness, giving each painting a quiet, mysterious aura.
ACTIVE PARTICIPATION OF THE VIEWER
His paintings come alive through the viewer’s engagement. “It is only in this interaction that my paintings find their meaning,” he says — a dialogue between artwork and observer.
