05 april 2022, Flor Linckens
Preview Art Rotterdam | Meet The Artist... Fleur De Roeck
During Art Rotterdam, 19 -22 May, you will spot the work of hundreds of artists from all over the world. In this series, we highlight a number of artists who will show remarkable work during the fair.
The Belgian artist Fleur De Roeck was already an imaginative painter and draftsman as a child. She spent her childhood in Visan, a small village in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, that had about 1600 inhabitants at the time. To this day, her parents still grow wine at the foot of the Alps. De Roeck exhibited her paintings for the first time when she was eighteen. It inspired her to study Graphic Design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, although in retrospect, she mainly looks back on this period as a time when she experienced a lot of creative limitations. Because De Roeck is generally more inspired by rebellious artistic expressions, including the 'shooting paintings' of the French-American artist Niki de Saint Phalle, who shot a rifle at capsules with paint and pigment — from balloons to paint cans — in order to to respond to the violence of the period.
Still, De Roeck's graphic background is clearly visible in the work that she makes. It’s instantly recognisable because of her clear, harmonious and dynamic use of colour, combined with the colour white. She paints and draws abstract shapes that often evoke a certain recognition at the same time. On paper, the artist likes to work with Chinese ink, because it forces her to make quick decisions; because she feels that she only has a single chance to get it right.
Fleur De Roeck, Screen, 2021, TATJANA PIETERS
De Roeck works in a multitude of formats: from tall paintings and small, modest sketches and collages to sculptures made of wood, stone, pieces of bark, papier-mâché or concrete. Occasionally, she makes installations that include various sculptures, drawings and paintings. De Roeck herself describes her work as optimistic and light, although this is not always a representative representation of her personality. The artist has a deep-rooted urge to create things. She makes a concerted effort to let go of the process a bit and to work a little more intuitively. Her practice also offers room for chance, dreams, the mystical and the subconscious, and is inspired by elements from nature, architecture, design and art history.
Another important source of inspiration is her grandmother Monique Vermeire, who, like De Roeck, has been painting all her life and has sold many works. De Roeck: “After diving into my grandparents' photo collection, I noticed how my grandmother was painting or drawing in nearly every single picture, no matter the country, for over 60 years.” Until 17 April, TATJANA PIETERS gallery in Ghent is showing a group exhibition that was curated by De Roeck, which serves as a tribute to her 83-year-old grandma, who still paints every day in her studio. In the exhibition, Vermeire’s work is combined with the work of her granddaughter and five other young artists.
During Art Rotterdam, the work of Fleur De Roeck will be on show in the New Art Section, presented by TATJANA PIETERS.
