17 april 2026, Emily Van Driessen
Nature nurtures in Claudy Jongstra’s new exhibition at Galerie Fontana in Brussels
At the end of April, from Thursday 23 to Sunday 26 April, the art fair Art Brussels once again takes place in the Belgian capital. Yet there is also plenty of art to discover beyond the fair’s walls. On Wednesday 22 April, for instance, Claudy Jongstra’s new solo exhibition Awaken Love opens at Galerie Fontana as part of Art Brussels Gallery Night.
Jongstra’s artistic practice is a profound and ongoing exploration of the relationship between art, ecology, sustainability and activism. From her base in Friesland, she works on a biodynamic farm where, together with her team, she has carefully reconstructed a historic greenhouse (originally from Belgium). This site forms the heart of her practice, where art production and care for nature go hand in hand.
Studio Claudy Jongstra. Photography: Heleen Haijtema
Her starting point is both radical and simple: to work locally and in a fully circular way. On her estate, she has developed a wild garden in which she cultivates plant-based dyes for her textiles. At the same time, she keeps a flock of more than one hundred rare Drenthe heath sheep, one of the oldest sheep breeds in Northern Europe. By caring for these animals, she actively contributes to preserving a breed that is under threat of extinction. The wool she uses in her work therefore comes directly from her own flock.
Jongstra studied fashion design in Utrecht and initially launched her own label. She soon turned her back on the fashion world in search of a more sustainable and meaningful practice. A visit to the Textile Museum in Tilburg proved to be a turning point: she became fascinated by the possibilities of wool as a sustainable material and by the use of natural dyes.
Studio Claudy Jongstra. Photography: Heleen Haijtema
Craftsmanship and slowness have since become central to her work. In her textile compositions, the rawness of the material remains visible: undyed wool reveals its natural structure, while hand-spun and rolled fibres create a tangible sense of movement. Whereas textiles are typically presented as finished products, Jongstra brings the viewer back to the beginning of the making process. Her work invites us to reflect on the origin of materials, the time and energy required to produce them, and the people involved.
This investment of time is essential: months pass before a work comes into being. From growing and shearing the wool, through spinning and dyeing, to the careful construction of compositions, these processes lie at the core of her practice and reflect a lived ‘natural philosophy’ centred on respect for materials and their origins.
Claudy Jongstra, Spirit Source, 2026 & Meander V, 2025, Galerie Fontana
Colour also plays a crucial role. Jongstra has an extensive laboratory in which she develops pigments based on plants, flowers, seeds, bark and herbs from her biodynamic garden. Her characteristic warm golden tones, for example, are derived from onion skins. In doing so, she connects to a long tradition: artists such as Rembrandt and Johannes Vermeer also worked with natural pigments.
Through this method, she contributes to the preservation of biodiversity. In a world where monocultures are becoming increasingly dominant, her practice offers an alternative that emphasises diversity, care and connection with the environment. She also collaborates with biodynamic farmers in, among other places, the Netherlands, Spain, Belgium and the United Kingdom. The specific climatic conditions of each location influence the final colour results and create a unique palette.
Studio Claudy Jongstra. Photography: Heleen Haijtema
Her works are composed not only of colour, but also of rich, tactile structures. She combines wool from the Drenthe heath sheep with materials such as mohair and silk, ranging from coarse tufts to refined embroidery. This layering gives her work a sculptural quality, in which the landscape abstractly shapes her imagery.
With Awaken Love, Jongstra presents a practice that is as sensory as it is engaged. The exhibition runs from Wednesday 22 April until 27 June 2026 at Galerie Fontana in Brussels.
