29 november 2024, Emily Van Driessen
Max Dreezen: "I’m Not a Baby, I’m a Big Boy"
In his second solo exhibition at De Wael 15, Max Dreezen paints what lies closest to his heart: love for family, teaching, and art. With the title "I’m Not a Baby, I’m a Big Boy", a quote from his godchild Oscar, Dreezen presents a series of works where personal stories, classical art influences, and contemporary reflections converge.
Max Dreezen, Buste, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
Looking, Grasping, and Distracting Buttons
During a visit to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp with his godchild Oscar, Dreezen made a striking observation. While Rubens’ monumental painting The Adoration of the Magi received little attention, an interactive screen with colorful buttons immediately captivated Oscar’s gaze. “He was completely mesmerized,” Dreezen recalls.
This experience made him wonder: how do such interactive elements affect the way we view art in museums? Are we unconsciously drawn to the most stimulating features - colors, buttons, screens - at the expense of the art itself? This tension between attraction and distraction is a recurring theme in his work. In a reinterpretation of Manet’s Olympia, Oscar’s hand again reaches for interactive buttons, or perhaps the naked breast of the reclining figure? “It’s never entirely clear where his focus truly lies,” Dreezen remarks with a playful wink.
Max Dreezen, Ik ben geen kindje, ik ben een grote jongen, 2024 + Ik ben geen kindje, ik ben een grote jongen 2, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
Fluorescent Statues
Colour plays a central role in Dreezen’s work, both as a visual element and as a reflection on how art is consumed. While wandering the streets of Florence, fluorescent replicas of Michelangelo’s David in tourist shop windows caught his eye. It struck him how objects are made more enticing, easier to consume, by giving them vibrant colours. “They immediately grab attention but simultaneously lose a sense of authenticity,” he explains.
Max Dreezen, the boysband, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
This tension, where colour creates both allure and alienation, also surfaces in another painting. Students in his painting classes decided to cover a white plaster bust with yellow chalk to "improve" it. “Every time you touch it, your hands are stained yellow,” he laughs. Other classroom objects, like colourful toy blocks and plaster skulls, also find their way into his work. These are everyday materials he uses to teach perspective and colour theory to his students.
Max Dreezen, The pilars of my imagination, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
Love for Classical Art
Dreezen has a deep appreciation for classical art and art history. From a young age, he was captivated by the biographies of Giorgio Vasari, who painted vivid portraits of the lives and work of historical artists. “These stories were read aloud by a teacher, and I was fascinated by how different the characters and lives of these artists were. It’s something that’s always stuck with me,” he says.
Max Dreezen, HM05, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
While Michelangelo inspired him as a teenager to study human anatomy through drawing, Dreezen now takes a more abstract approach to artistic inspiration. “Many of the images I work with have a conscious or unconscious link to works from art history,” he explains.
One clear example is a theatrical self-portrait based on a photo of himself, his brother, and his sister in a Corsican cave. The piece draws on the dramatic chiaroscuro and intense atmosphere characteristic of Caravaggio.
The Butterfly as a Symbol of Loss and Connection
A recurring motif in this exhibition is the butterfly, a personal symbol with special meaning. While dusting a cabinet filled with memorial cards, Dreezen came across the card of his late uncle. At that moment, he read a phrase he would never find again: “To truly live, you must be a butterfly.” Since then, he has seen every butterfly as a reminder of his uncle, an association he weaves into various works.
Max Dreezen, Om echt te leven moet je een vlinder zijn, 2024, Art Gallery De Wael 15
For instance, he depicted a butterfly on a sculpture by Rik Wouters featuring the artist’s wife. For Dreezen, the sculpture evokes his mother, while his sister associates it with their grandmother. “It fascinates me how we had never talked about that sculpture before, yet we share such a similar sense of symbolism,” he says.
This idea of shared symbolism resonates within his family. These small, personal stories hold profound meaning for Dreezen, subtly embedded throughout his work.
Conclusion
In "I’m Not a Baby, I’m a Big Boy", Max Dreezen invites us to reflect on how we experience and assign meaning to art. He creates a distinctive universe where playfulness, symbolism, and technical precision seamlessly come together. With personal stories, references to his students and family, and subtle critiques of the art world, he touches the viewer on multiple levels.
Above all, Dreezen reminds us to, like Oscar, embrace what fascinates us - playfully and without hesitation.
