01 may 2026, Emily Van Driessen
Devenir by Jean Godecharle at Hilde Vandaele Gallery
Granular hills, expanding bodies of water, misty, rippling light reflections. Wandering through landscapes, visual artist Jean Godecharle reveals impressions of nature. In his second solo exhibition Devenir at Hilde Vandaele Gallery, walking becomes, through his artistic method, a process of slowing down. His images are shaped through a process of looking and decelerating. The vernissage takes place on Sunday 3 May, and the exhibition also runs during Kortrijk Art Weekend from Friday 8 to Sunday 10 May 2026. Thé weekend when the city transforms into an open art parcours, with galleries, studios and temporary locations opening their doors simultaneously.
Godecharle gained recognition as a commercial photographer through his highly technical expertise. He worked with and for numerous artists, designers, architects and galleries, and for about a decade now has been developing his own visually poetic visual language as a visual artist. Godecharle describes his practice as a departure from photography. For him, its core lies in letting go of the subject. In photography, questions like: what is the subject, where is the place, and when was the moment captured?, almost automatically arise. In other visual arts, this is less present.
Jean Godecharle, Devenir, Hilde Vandaele Gallery
In his practice, he uses both analogue and digital processes. He deliberately works with simple, sometimes limited cameras, where technical restrictions create space for other ways of seeing. In the further process, the computer functions as a contemporary darkroom in which images are developed and refined.
"Jean Godecharle searches for what he calls 'the un-eye-able'," notes writer Yasmine Van't Veld in the accompanying exhibition text. "Ignoring the legitimate definition of the word, he uses it to describe 'that which is almost impossible to grasp with the eye'."
For his artistic practice, Godecharle moves attentively through various natural landscapes. These are slow, attentive walks in which looking becomes a form of reflection, and at the same time a way to maintain focus. He directs his gaze not only to what surrounds him, but also to what can be found on the ground. He picks up small natural objects, pieces of wood, stones, that he encounters along the way. Back in his studio, his working process begins by photographing them with great precision while simultaneously abstracting them. The resulting images are often significantly enlarged afterwards, allowing small fragments to become monumental, landscape-like forms. Zoomed-in details open up into misty forests or dissolve into biomorphic abstract textures.
Jean Godecharle, study #565a/Y MT, 2026, Hilde Vandaele Gallery
"For me, photographing these objects in the studio is always a kind of coming home," says Godecharle. "I go into my studio, set up my flash installation, my technical camera, etc. This is essentially analogue equipment and therefore entirely manual in use. The camera must be adjusted and focused by hand, the lighting must be placed and controlled very precisely, no zoom lenses, no automatic settings. The images are, however, recorded digitally and can therefore be immediately seen and evaluated on a computer screen. In this way, I have found a new kind of work that has a strong connection with my earlier landscape work, but also a specific character of its own."
Jean Godecharle, untitled #1022/Y, 2026 & study #449/Y MT, 2026, Hilde Vandaele Gallery
In the newest series of works, the poetry in his photographic practice becomes even more tangible through his use of monotype as a graphic technique. Instead of creating a plate for multiple identical prints, he works with digital photo prints onto which he directly applies and manipulates graphic ink, resulting each time in a unique print. The image is then manually transferred onto paper, again producing a unique impression. It is a combination of control and unpredictability. The image forms itself along the way, resulting in subtle shifts, textures and nuances that give each print its own character.
The inherent unpredictability of the monotype encourages the artist to take the time to shape his images. Razor-sharp details with precise and unique colour renderings are the result. He uses intaglio ink, which produces deep, rich tones that give a nearly tangible density in relation to the light in his expressive images. These works reveal a rich spectrum of tonalities, in which subtle nuances are more important than strong contrasts.
Jean Godecharle, Devenir, Hilde Vandaele Gallery
Devenir by Jean Godecharle is on view until Saturday 30 May 2026 at Hilde Vandaele Gallery in Kortrijk.
