WORK
It is all about man’s quest for tranquillity, aestheticism, for “being” instead of “doing”, for confirmation and structure in our life. Erwin Van den Brande’s images intend to derive the reality of its context and thus render it timeless. He portrays reality as he experiences it, not as he or we see it. This allows him to distance himself from the actual world and society. The images aim to create an idyll and a utopia: a space for reflection, contemplation, and tranquillity—a stimulus to daydream. The common thread through his work is nostalgia, with which he connects the “past” to the “present”. This nostalgia is emphasized both thematically and formally. For example, by reusing existing images, desaturating colors, playing with focus, and highlighting elements from the past. Digital collages complete this by using the various aspects of a topic in one image. Erwin Van den Brande’s images have a clear and defined line, are abstract, and focus on the essence.
With their vast aesthetic appeal, Erwin Van den Brande’s images want to take the spectator on a journey of reflection and contemplation. His work is described as universal, timeless, yet modern and refined. His imagery entices the observer, allowing the observer to dwell upon the image, without infringing on the aesthetics.
BIO
At the early age of 17 years old, Erwin Van den Brande was already a photographer. Like many 70’s youths, he was confronted with the budding medium that was photography. Like so many others, he discovered the joys of having his dark room. Albeit in those days, his areas of interest were typically rock concerts and holiday photography, he was awarded various prizes. In that respect, Erwin Van den Brande was ranked 2nd during the Procter & Gamble International competition for best “Dreft” advert and he won a photography competition about old buildings in Mechelen by entering a photo collage. During a lengthy period, for various reasons, photography was placed on the back burner. More than 2 decades later photography was taken up again and Erwin Van den Brande enrolled himself in a photography school in Antwerp. He was subsequently, once again, captivated by photography and found inspiration from contemporary international photographers. He was very quickly discovered by several art galleries and he had interesting articles in different magazines. In the most recent years, he exposed his work at more than 17 exhibitions in different cities like Brussels, Antwerp, Knokke, Mechelen, Spa, Amsterdam, Zandvoort, London, Milaan, and Hong Kong. These successes motivated him to say goodbye to his job and partnership in an international company and to focus 100% on art and photography.
The future of photography mainly interests him: how will photography evolve in the coming years, and what will be the impact of digital processing, AI, and Meta Data? How will other art forms affect photography? Additionally, questions about aesthetics: what makes a photograph attractive, how do other cultures in other countries view photography? Erwin Van den Brande continuously works on different collections. As an artist, he doesn’t want to be locked into a particular box. It is the benefit of an artist to retain his freedom and not to be imposed on rules.
EXPOSITIONS
Gallery Axel Pairon Knokke, Belgium Summer 2011
Black Lamb Expo Mechelen, Belgium September 2011
Gallery Axel Pairon Antwerp, Belgium November 2011
Eurantica Brussels, Belgium March 2012
Gallery Laraven Amsterdam, The Netherlands June 2012
Art Expo KBC Bank Antwerp, Belgium July 2012
Gallery Laraven Zandvoort, The Netherlands August 2012
Gallery Axel Pairon Knokke, Belgium July-August 2012
Antica Namur Namur, Belgium November 2012
Hong Kong Art Fair Hong Kong Marc 2013
Vogelsang Art Gallery Brussel, Belgium June 2013
Gallery Azur Spa, Belgium 2012-13
Hotel Radisson Blu Spa, Belgium Summer 2013
Noah Kasterlee, Belgium 2012-13
Onsitegallery Brasschaat, Belgium September 2013
Art Fair Amsterdam Amsterdam, The Netherlands October 2013
Bricklane Gallery London, UK February 2014
Art-beI BNP Paribas Fortis Kortrijk, Belgium March 2014
Royal Academy Antwerp Antwerp, Belgium June 2014
Vogelsang Art Gallery Brussels, Belgium September 2014
NOAH goes Art Kasterlee, Belgium Nov-Dec 2014
Perspectives by Abbvie Vienna, Austria February 2015
Jelmoni Gallery Milan, Italy February 2015
Different Perspectives ‘15 Antwerp, Belgium June 2015
Process by Multitude Antwerp, Belgium Sep-Oct 2015
Perspectives by Abbvie Barcelona, Spain December 2015
Cunina Expo Antwerp, Belgium January 2016
Different Perspectives ‘16 Antwerp, Belgium June 2016
PhotoEvent16 Mechelen, Belgium June-August 2016
Aston Martin Antwerp, Belgium October 2016
In Residence Knokke, Belgium December 2016
Art School Gent Gent, Belgium December 2016
Think Jazzy Art Gallery Antwerp, Belgium June - August 2017
Summer of Wechel Wechelerzande, Belgium August 2017
Think Jazzy Art Gallery Antwerp, Belgium May 2018
REBILD Yugen Art Ghent, Belgium June 2018
Epoke Design Studio Antwerp, Belgium November 2019
Gallery Jean Antwerp, Belgium July-August 2019
KunstxBunch Brasschaat 2022
R-Photography Fenzou, China 2022
Beyond Gallery Antwerpen Belgium 2023
Atelier/studio of artist Antwerp, Belgium Permanent