05 december 2024, Yves Joris
Between pixels and poetry
The paintings of Bart Stolle (Eeklo, 1974) are not merely images, but encounters with a universe in which the everyday is translated into abstract patterns and digital echoes. His latest exhibition, Low Fixed Media Show at Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche, feels like a train ride through an unfamiliar landscape: details blur with speed, leaving only the essence of a moment. In his work, technology and tradition meet, not as opposites, but as allies in a visual adventure that challenges us to see differently.
Stolle’s work continuously balances between logic and emotion, between the calculated precision of a computer and organic slowness of human thought. He translates one world into the other without blindly embracing the digital. Instead, Stolle infiltrates it with his analogue perspective, making the tensions between the two realms palpable. He explains it as “rhythm, melody, colour, stillness, movement, explosion—universal elements that reflect our sense of time and the space around us.”
Fragmentary glimpses, a landscape in pixels
His work often begins with a mundane moment, such as a train ride through a fleeting landscape captured at 25 frames per second. But that’s where the simplicity ends. He reduces each image layer by layer, transforming lines into shapes and colours into contrasts. The result is not a copy of the landscape, but a construction of what is both seen and ignored. This reduction reminds us of how fragmentary our gaze is and how subjective every perception inevitably remains.
In his process, Stolle balances speed and slowness. While a computer can generate thousands of images per second, he deliberately chooses the analogue slowness of the moment. Creating a single work demands precision, dedication and an intense awareness of every millimetre of the canvas. This human approach gives Stolle’s abstractions a rare warmth and intimacy that an algorithm could never replicate, making his paintings not only visual objects, but rhythmic compositions, akin to the grooves of an LP: seemingly identical at first glance, yet each carrying its own unique melody.
Bart Stolle, Untitled (target), 2024, Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche
Digital nostalgia and the human touch
Though Stolle’s work appears visually digital, it remains deeply rooted in the analogue. Every line and detail in his paintings is applied by hand. The contrast between the calculated appearance and the warm, artisanal process is one of the most fascinating frictions in his oeuvre. Stolle emphasises that he does not aim to create digital art; instead, he infiltrates the virtual world with the slowness and imperfection of the human spirit.
In his own words: “What I try to do is complement the logic of technology with the poetry of imperfection.” This is tangible in his work, in which he often uses leftover materials like tape or paint splatters, accidental elements that find new life on the canvas. This respect for the objects around him makes his work both human and timeless.
Art critic Mark Ruyters aptly summarises his work as follows: “Bart Stolle is an artist who translates computer-generated visual language into paintings. His Low Fixed Media Show was a virtuosic series in which ‘cold’ lines and surfaces subtly, organically transformed into warm, compelling artworks.”
Stolle not only experiments with colour and lines, but also with our perception of time. Much like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, an important inspiration for him, his work is imbued with a larger, unseen meaning. Every element—however abstract—feels like part of a greater system.
Bart Stolle, Geranium, 2023, Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche
Empathy in abstraction: the figure as mirror
Though Stolle’s work may seem abstract, human stories form a constant undercurrent in his oeuvre. His early work, composed of simple shapes like circles and squares, told everyday stories: a walk, a summer ice cream. Yet these figures remain abstract enough to act as a mirror for the viewer.
This subtlety is also present in his recent work. Where figuration disappears, patterns and structures leave behind narrative echoes. Each piece invites the viewer not only to observe, but also to interpret, to assemble a story from fragments. It is not the characters that speak, but the rhythm, repetition and variation in Stolle’s visual language.
An evolving practice
Stolle’s practice is not limited to painting. He also experiments with animated films, sound art and installations. This multidisciplinary approach reflects his ongoing search for translations between worlds: between analogue and digital, speed and slowness, reason and emotion.
His exhibition career underscores his versatility. In addition to solo exhibitions at the Zeno X Gallery, S.M.A.K. in Ghent and the Ryan Lee Gallery in New York, he has also participated in significant group exhibitions at institutions like M HKA in Antwerp and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Shanghai.
His current exhibition at Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche builds on earlier experiments while refining his themes. Low Fixed Media Show is not a trial piece, but a culmination of years of exploration.
Bart Stolle, Untitled (horse), 2024, Gallery Sofie Van den Bussche
Open ending
What makes this exhibition so intriguing is that it forms a self-contained universe, while at the same time leaving room for interpretation. Stolle invites us to engage in dialogue: between artist and viewer, digital and analogue, present and past.
His work asks not only to be viewed, but also to be experienced. It reminds us of the fleeting nature of daily life—like a train ride through an unfamiliar landscape. But at the same time, offers an invitation: to pause and find meaning in fleeting fragments.
With Low Fixed Media Show, Bart Stolle reaffirms his position as an intriguing artist. He shows that abstraction does not have to be cold, that technology isn’t soulless and that even in the most calculated compositions, profound humanity can be found. He asks us not merely to look, but to see—a simple yet transformative act.
