02 july 2026, Flor Linckens
Anne Van Boxelaere: the search for the humanity behind the system
Until 11 July, FRED&FERRY in Antwerp presents the solo exhibition ‘Radiant City’ by Anne Van Boxelaere, featuring a selection of recent works from her ongoing "Agreement" series. In her practice, the Belgian artist explores the structures and invisible agreements that shape our everyday lives.
‘Radiant City’, the title of the exhibition, refers to Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse, a utopian urban planning concept from 1930. Conceived as a blueprint for the ideal modern city, the design doctrine was intended to bring about harmony and social reform through three key principles: order, efficiency and rationality. Van Boxelaere, however, uses it as a point of departure for an exploration of the tension between human freedom and the systems that increasingly organise our lives. Such rigid and uniform structures can foster alienation, leaving little room for spontaneity, human scale or genuine social interaction.
The works in her ‘Agreement’ series draw visual inspiration from sports fields, similarly demarcated spaces that are defined by a clear network of rules and boundaries, where every line and colour carries a predetermined and agreed-upon meaning. Sure, these are places where people come together, but these encounters are carefully regulated. For Van Boxelaere, they offer a compelling example of the many invisible agreements through which people define their place within society.
The geometric grids in the background of the compositions evoke urban street plans. When you look at the paintings, you perceive a distinct sense of depth and distance between foreground and background. The carefully ordered background suggests structure, while the broad, almost weightless brushstrokes in sky blue, bright white, orange red and deep green introduce a sense of movement, rhythm and freedom. Through her practice, Van Boxelaere examines how administrative systems, social conventions and unwritten rules shape our perception of reality, reflecting on contemporary society and the ways in which we move through the world while continually negotiating our own position in relation to others. At the same time, the artist searches for those rare moments when bureaucratic structures briefly give way, allowing beauty, stillness and human connection to emerge. In other words, those qualities that make us human.
To create her layered paintings, Van Boxelaere frequently incorporates collages of found advertising materials, which she subsequently manipulates by gluing, sanding and painting over them. As a result, no recognisable texts or images are visible in the abstract, contemplative final composition, serving as a metaphor for the subtle ways in which advertising influences and stimulates us, consciously or unconsciously. This process also introduces multiple layers of time into each work. Alongside this, the artist experiments with a wide range of materials, including rubber, various types of paint, epoxy and ink.
Anne Van Boxelaere was born in Antwerp in 1983, where she studied painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. She subsequently completed a postgraduate programme at HISK in Ghent, more recently followed by an artist residency in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. Last year, her work was included in the major survey exhibition ‘Contemporary Painting’ at S.M.A.K. in Ghent. Earlier presentations include Imago Mundi alongside the Venice Biennale and the exhibition ‘Re-Enactments’ in New York, curated by Artsy.
