Between abstraction and realism, the escapism of the landscape in Jonas Callaert's work
The exhibition "It all started with Dirty Dancing" by Jonas Callaert at Galerie De Wael 15 offers an intriguing look at the relationship between painting and landscape. Callaert, a graduate of St. Lucas in Ghent, investigates in his work not so much the landscape as a recognizable place, but as a concept and experience. His paintings are not direct representations of nature; rather, they question the role of painting in representing landscapes.
His work often begins with photos of landscapes, but it is about much more than just depicting a specific place. The artist initially looks for specific colors, such as the blue of the sky or the green of grass, which serve as the basis for his paintings. He then incorporates these landscapes into collages, where the original location disappears and makes way for a more universal landscape. The artist plays with abstraction and figuration, blurring the boundaries between the two.
In this exhibition, Callaert prominently plays with the material properties of painting. His paintings are not just flat surfaces, but are seen as objects in space. This is reflected, among other things, in his emphasis on the edges of the canvas and the thickness of the stretcher bars, elements that are usually subordinate to the image itself. In some works, the canvas even appears to detach from the frame, as if trying to escape into the surrounding space. This emphasizes the physical presence of the painting and makes the viewer aware of the work as an object, not just an image.
Window to the world
A central theme in Callaert's work is the idea of the painting as a window to the world, a concept he borrows from the Renaissance artist Leon Battista Alberti. However, he goes further in his artistic exploration. He not only plays with this tradition by considering the painting not only as a window, but also as a physical object that exists in space. As a result, his works invite reflection on the role of painting in representing reality, challenging the viewer to think about what a painting actually is.
A look under the hood
Callaert's painting process is closely connected to the material properties of paint and canvas. He emphasizes that his work does not create an illusion (trompe-l'oeil), but instead focuses on the visibility of the painting process. Paint remains paint and the traces of the creation process remain clearly visible. This gives his paintings a craft-like, almost tangible quality. The viewer is invited to not only look at the end result, but also at the steps that led to the completed work.
In his works, Callaert also plays with spatiality. He does this, for example, by integrating rope and thread into his work, which creates a link to the horizon and at the same time separates the painting from its two-dimensional context. The result is a tension between the painting as an image and as an object, a core question in Callaert's oeuvre.
Another striking aspect of this exhibition is Callaert's use of titles. His works often refer to personal or cultural references. For example, the work "Little Bastard" refers to James Dean's car, creating a playful connection between pop culture and his abstract visual language. These references add an extra layer of meaning to the works, inviting the viewer to look beyond the painting itself.
A different perspective on the landscape
The landscape is both present and absent in this exhibition. Although he works within the tradition of landscape painting, the works are more like abstract explorations of color, form, and texture. The horizon, often a fixed element in landscapes, is absent in many of his works or replaced by abstract lines and shapes. This forces the viewer to look differently at what would normally be a recognizable subject.
He shows that landscape painting can be more than just a representation of nature. His works offer a new perspective on this genre, freeing the painting from its traditional function as a window to the world and turning it into an autonomous object that interacts with the space around it.
The exhibition "It all started with Dirty Dancing" at Galerie De Wael 15 showcases Callaert's ability to explore and challenge the boundaries of painting. By playing with the material aspects of the medium, he offers a fresh perspective on the landscape and painting as a whole.
YVES JORIS