Biography
Curriculum vitae (selection):
Selection of previous Prises/honourable mentions/selections (out of past year):
- 1st prize poëziewedstrijd Harelbeke 2015
(With additional publication – “Lees me voor uit je borsten”)
- 1ste Prize ‘TUUËBETEGOARE’, visual art competition 2015
- 1ste Prize from the ‘Epilepsie Liga’, visual art competition 2015
- Runner up in ‘Splash 17’, painting competition 2015
- One of the selected artists in the celesteprize 2014
- Honourable mention in the Poemtata poëziewedstrijd 2014
(with additional publication – “Verdwalen in het bet van alpha”)
- 4th place/ honourable mention SOET 2014
- 5th place/ honourable mention Poëziewedstrijd De Scriptomanen 2014
(with additional publication and ebook – “De Schuilkelders van de poëzie”
- Finalist in ‘het leven als lijtmotief’ 2015 (winner not announced yet)
Selection of recent Exhibitions (out of past year):
- - Chie art Gallery (Milan, Italy)) Oktober 2014
- - Museo Marte (Campania, Italy) November 2014
- - Marzia Frozen Gallery (Berlin, Germany) September 2014
- - Juried exhibition ‘ARNOEVOO’ (Bredene, Belgium) 2015
- - Juried Exhibition ‘TUUËBETEGOARE’ (Zomergem, Belgium) 2015
Artist statement:
When I create a series of work I ask myself often the following question: “What would the art world, two centuries ago, have thought about this particular series?” Whenever the answer to that question is “They would surely love it.” I know I’m doing something wrong, that it’s not progressive enough and not 21st century worthy. It is my method to get rid of the ballast. In order to get forward we need to get rid of the ballast that holds us back, things that were very useful in the past but that are now out-dated, not ‘beautiful’ anymore, … is ballast that we need to let go.
It’s the good old destruction-construction model, destroying parts of the past in order to build the future out of these ‘old’ building blocks. For a few of my series around realism I leave the traditional realism behind and present the reality of realism. One of the most important attitudes that helped me developing a reality of realism and becoming what I am is the simple act of going left when everybody else is going right. It’s the only way to discover the new and push the boundaries forward. Just like life, this creative process is a balancing act, what do we keep of our past and what do we let go.
Watercolor is the medium of the future for painting! I strongly believe this. It’s simply the medium that can blend in most easily with all other fields of humanity. (science, economy, etc.).
Oh yes, before I forget. I should also implement some of the traditional stuff in a statement with terms like: self-motivation, autodidact, ambition, etc. and perhaps a philosophy difficult enough so you don’t have the guts to say I’m wrong and strange enough so you can see that I’m an artist. All of that just to show you that I’m serious with my art. Well let’s just put it like this: I’m very serious!
If you are interested you can follow me on Facebook or twitter.
facebook: DriesKetels.Art
twitter: Dries_Ketels
Note: Many of the artworks on this profile are still for sale. Contact the artist for more information!
