At the 2023 edition of UNSEEN, GRIMM presents a solo booth with works by Belgian artist Dirk Braeckman (1958).
Since the mid-1980s, Dirk Braeckman has developed an impressive oeuvre consisting of photography, and video. Braeckman’s grey shaded works suggest rather than explain. They offer a window into an unidentified reality: distant seascapes, deserted ballrooms, billowing curtains, antique wallpaper, or a blurred image of a nude. Atmosphere, cropping, light and texture are given central place in Braeckman’s poetic work.
"Dirk Braeckman takes, eliminates, distorts, sculpts everything he sees. The sensuality of this inert world refers to the tactility of the photographic print itself, magnified by a matt paper and an extreme refinement of shades of grey. All shades of grey. Pearl grey, charcoal grey, silver grey, lizard grey, platinum grey, phoenix grey, slate grey, Lisbon grey, clock grey, moon grey... the infinite palette of monochrome."
- Diane Dufour, 2022
Braeckman’s darkroom functions like a painter’s studio; an area for experimentation where the artist allows freedom, spontaneity and time to influence his creative process. Using tools and techniques to manipulate the negatives, the resulting works possess a tactility rarely seen in photography.
Dirk Braeckman studied photography and film at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent (BE) from 1977 to 1981. His work is currently featured in "Beautés" at Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain, Auvergne (FR) until November 5, 2023 and is featured in the forthcoming exhibition, "Statement Chairs" at the Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL), on view from September 23, 2023 - January 14, 2024.
Recent solo exhibitions: "Dirk Braeckman: Déboires de l’âme", Emile Verhaeren Museum, Sint Armands (BE) and "Évidences possibles", FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand (FR) in 2023; "LUSTER./", GRIMM, New York, NY (US) in 2022 and "Fernweh", Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp (BE) in 2021.
Selected collections: Centraal Museum, Utrecht (NL); Centro de Fotografia de la Universidad, Salamanca (ES); FoMu, Foto Museum, Antwerp (BE); Fondation nationale d’art contemporain, Paris (FR); Frac Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkirk (FR); Frac Rhône-Alpes, Villeurbanne (FR); Kunstmuseum, The Hague (NL); M HKA, Antwerp (BE); MAC’s Grand-Hornu, Hornu (BE); Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris (FR); Ministère de la Communauté française, Brussels (BE); Ministerie van de Vlaamse Gemeenschap, Brussels (BE); MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY (US); Musée Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône (FR); Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi (BE); Musée d’Art Contemporain et Moderne, Strasbourg (FR); Museum Voorlinden, Wassenaar (NL); Mu.ZEE, Ostend (BE); De Pont Museum, Tilburg (NL); Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA (US); The Rachofsky Collection, Dallas, TX (US); Royal Palace, Brussels (BE); Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels (BE) and S.M.A.K., Ghent (BE) among others.