Walter Swennen

Walter Swennen, (°1946) born in Brussels, is a painter. Like others of his generation, he re-approaches and explores the medium by applying principles from other disciplines. Swennen's work constantly challenges the viewer. His paintings demand to be viewed slowly and attentively. Beneath the layers of paint is often a battlefield of incitements, corrections, words and messages. Because his Dutch-speaking family suddenly started speaking French when he was five, language games are an integral part of his art. A painting by Walter Swennen is not only a result, but also a process. We register the distance traveled to the final 'visible' image. An important constant is the pleasure he gets from the fight with the paint. Non-conformist as he is, Swennen paints on everything from canvas to wood to discarded camping tables, stoves and washing machines. continues to focus on young artists. Swennen is represented by the Brussels gallery Xavier Hufkens and the New York gallery Gladstone, and won the prestigious Ultima Career Prize for Visual Arts 2019. His work is in numerous museum collections. Exhibition: Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany (March-May 2021); Kunstmuseum The Hague, the Netherlands (Fall 2021); Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Switzerland (Spring 2022)