Mario De Brabandere

For over 35 years Mario De Brabandere (born 1963, Belgium) has been steadily building up an impressive oeuvre that mainly consists of drawings, paintings, sculptures and studies on paper. In his work he investigates varieties of combinations and compositions, with geometrical shapes, perspective, volumes and motifs, in a palette of mostly bold colors. The more recent works tend to stay untitled, but the subjects are legible in all their simplicity. The drawings or paintings reprise familiar motifs and objects from cityscapes, such as vehicles or flags. His work also bears formal references to art history. De Brabandere’s practice consists of a process of spontaneous and continuous creation. According to the artist, the material itself fulfills half the work. His attention goes to the particularities of the wood and paper he works on, but also to their previous usage or history.