What does the ideal artist’s studio look like? How much time does an artist spend there? Is it a sacred place? This week in 'The Artist’s studio' series: Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, whose studio was donated to the MSK in Ghent.
Do you visit your studio every day?
I always work from home. I've never had a studio, I work in the living room, the kitchen. I have lived in Sint-Kornelis-Horebeke with my family; if something had to be done or painted there, we did it in the garage or in the neighbour's sheepfold. The cigar box in Ghent, which is now in the MSK, was the result of many years of study; I studied anthropology, cosmogony, neuropsychology, but also fungi, ecology, anatomy, biology. The Latin word for box is arca, and that's how you arrive at Noah's ark: a box on a boat with everything in it.
What time do you leave for your studio, and how: on foot, by bicycle, public transport or car?
Since I work from home, I don't go anywhere. I can work anywhere: in the attic, in a basement, in every room in the house.
Do you hold on to certain rituals in your studio? Music or silence?
It's been quiet the past few weeks, but when I'm cutting, I prefer to turn on the radio and listen to radio Klara. Preferably no talk radio, that only distracts, I prefer listening to music, classical or a little jazz.
How important is light to you?
Light is not important to me. Usually, the windows are closed, and the curtains drawn.
What does your work process look like? Do you work everywhere and all the time or does work only commence the moment you enter your studio?
I work everywhere all the time, it's a kind of circulatory system. I get up early, around half past five in the morning, and then work until four thirty in the afternoon. That was always related to the age of the children: picking them up from school, cooking.
How much time do you spend on average per day in your studio?
On average, I spend over ten hours in the studio every day, but not constantly.
Is your studio a sacred place?
No, it’s not special. The cigar box was a playground for the children. It was located in an old monastery garden, that was in the period from 1997 to 2017, I've been gone since I got divorced. The inside of the box – so everything that coincided with the work – was donated by me, the outside was made by the MSK.
Do you receive visits there; collectors, curators or fellow artists?
Home and studio have always been mixed up. The place where the cigar box stood in the garden was actually a kitchen house, that place was the main ingredient, where everything happened; eating, cooking, being together.
What is the most beautiful studio you have ever seen?
The place of monk Johan Mendel, the founder of genetics. He lived in the Saint Thomas Monastery in Brno, in the Czech Republic, where he lived in a simple cell. He was able to create something big there in a very modest way. So the space doesn't matter to me, it doesn't necessarily have to belong to an artist. I also enjoy craftsmen, a carpenter or a blacksmith, people who can produce fine things.
What does the ideal studio look like?
A table, a chair and a few books. All my work goes directly to Zeno X, it is picked up and framed by them. Afterwards my house is empty again.