Bio
Wouter van de Koot (1978°), lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium. In 2001 he obtained a BA in Visual Arts at the Utrecht School of Arts, followed in 2018 by a MA in painting at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, after which he went on to win the Award of Buggenhout- Kunstprijs Pieter Vanneste for Drawing and
Printmaking 2018. Recent exhibitions include solo and duo shows at Gallery Vriend van Bavink, This Art Fair, and Gasunie (NL).
Statement
“In my paintings and drawings I have always been drawn to the theatrical drama found in religious rituals, mythology or history. The human body with its vulnerability and beauty, its lust and its strength, have long fascinated me.
I like to work in different materials, going from oils to watercolor to color pencil or inks, moving from one medium to the next and back again. I absolutely love the fragile and flowing nature of watercolor, which demands a balance between control and letting go.
My characters often find themselves in fictional landscapes, strewn with natural or manmade phenomena like clouds, explosions, smoke or light. They seem to partake in mysterious rituals, moving between the mundane and the obscure. My imagery is rooted in personal experiences, fears, dreams and desires which are connected with (art) historical themes and characters. I like to use myself and the people around me as my models, but also take the freedom to cite from existing imagery.”
Wouter van de Koot
2022
Larey G’s Living Room | group show | Coppejans Gallery | Antwerp //B
2020
Through Walls | group show | Galerie Dessers, YOC | Hasselt //B
2019
The Soft Parade | duo show with Marjolijn Mandersloot | Nederlandse Gasunie | Groningen //NL
Of Flesh and Stone | duo show with Tja Ling Hu | Gallery Vriend van Bavink | Amsterdam //NL
Ithaka #27 | group show | Leuven //B
Velvet Ropes | group show | Showhouse JayJay | Antwerpen //B
2018
To Be Antwerp | solo shows at Marc Lauwers A Living Gallery & Kavka | Antwerp // B
New Romantics | masters graduation show | Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp | Antwerp // B
Offering | solo show | Galerie Van Der Planken | Antwerpen // B
6 voor 6 | group show | Gallery Vriend van Bavink, Loods 6 | Amsterdam // B
Wondrous Pearls | group show | Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp // B | curated by Spank Moons
2017
Offering | solo show | This Art Fair, Gallery Vriend van Bavink | Amsterdam // NL
Silent Auction | group show | The Drawing Hub | Berlin // D | curated by Jan Philipp- Fruehsorge
Where goes the night | solo show | Gallery Vriend van Bavink | Amsterdam // NL
WATT arts festival, Pink TV | group show | The MAS (Museum aan de Stroom) | Antwerp //B | curated by Dawid Wojtalewicz
The Lost Posters exhibition | group show | CC De Steiger | Meenen //B | curated by Lee Ranaldo & Jan Van Woensel
2016
Underground School of Contemporary Art | group show | Mercado Post Office | Antwerp //B | curated by Jan van Woensel & Mynd
Belgium Performance Festival III | group show | VUB | Brussels //B | curated by Stefan Wouters
Setting the Scene | group show | Factor 44 | Antwerp (B) | curated by Wouter van de Koot
2015
Summer Salon | group show | Lubomirov/Angus-Hughes Gallery | London //GB
Let Grass Roots Grow | A-side B-side gallery | London //GB curated by Ronan Bowes
2014
Into the Hills then | solo show | Closed Gallery | Antwerp //B
(In)Visible, The Shape Open Exhibition | group show | Shape Gallery | London //GB
A Comfortable Man | group show | Wilton’s Music Hall | London //GB | curated by MC Llamas
2013
Aquachrome | group show | Manifest Gallery | Cincinnati //USA
2012
Beauty of an Ugly Truth | group show | Gallery Vriend van Bavink | Amsterdam //NL | curated by Gianni Hilgemann (Berlinartprojects)
Truc Troc 8th| group show | Bozar, Palace of Fine Arts | Brussels //B
2011
The Switch | solo show | Ponyhof Gallery | Antwerp //B
Pop Secret | group show | Atelier Solarshop | Antwerp //B | curated by Liv Vaisberg
PAINT! | group show | de Stadsgalerij | Amersfoort //NL | curated by John Konijn
Truc Troc 7th| group show | Bozar, Palace of Fine Arts | Brussels //B
2010
White Lies | solo show | Oever 21 | Antwerp //B
Riffling Through My Drawers | group show | WEI Art Space | Eindhoven //NL
2009
Die Zeit of Drawing | group show | Climate Gallery | Long Island, New York //US
HIWAAR Expo 2060 | Site specific installations in Antwerp //B | curated by Erik van In
2008
OBJECT | solo show | Atelier 5 | Bonn //D
International Prize Hoppeland for Painting 2008 | group show | Poperinge //B
2007
Royal Dutch Painting Prize 2007 | group show | Kunstmuseum Den Haag | The Hague //NL
Trust | solo show | Galerie S&S | Antwerp //B
2005
Breath | solo show | Odeon | Zwolle //NL
2004
Young Talent Award | group show | GAU | Utrecht //NL
2001
The Live Room | group show | Centraal Museum Utrecht | curated by Klaas Hoek
Awards & nominations
2018 Winner of the Award Pieter Vanneste for Drawing and Printmaking 2018
2007 Royal Dutch Painting Prize 2007 (nominated)
2001 Young Talent Award 2001, PKU
Artist residencies
2022 Atelier FAAR | Antwerp //B
2016 Underground School of Contemporary Art | Mercado Post Office |
Antwerp //B
2001 The Live Room | Centraal Museum Utrecht //NL
Publications & Press
2019 Catalogue Ithaka #27 | LOKO Cultuur, Leuven
2018 Jan Stassijns | interview on ‘To Be Antwerp’ in Gazet van Antwerpen, 27/11/2018 Kunstzone magazine | centerfold publication | no. 02 March 2018
2017 Edo Dijksterhuis | ‘De kunst van het weglaten’ | exhibition review in Het Parool, 29/09/2017 ****
2014 Catalogue ‘A Comfortable Man’| Cathal Smyth & MC Llamas, London.
2013 Karen Chambers | Aquachrome: Contemporary Watercolor | exhibition review on AEQAI , 24/11/2013
2012 INDA 6 (International Drawing Annual) | Manifest Gallery & Drawing Center, Cincinnati | USA.
2011 Ignasi Centelles | The Polymorphic Dreams of Wouter van de Koot | article on Mutantinvasion, online magazine, 13/10/2011
Liv Vaisberg | Painted images and Photography: When painting relies on digital Media (III) | article on Ponyhoffreshpaint blog, 06/09/2011
‘WEI 2009-2010’| publication by cultural initiative WEI.nu | Eindhoven
Liv Vaisberg,’ Portraying Absence’ | article on Ponyhoffreshpaint blog,10/03/2011
2010 Rob Schonen, ‘Pittig met balpen, maf in potlood ’| exhibition review in Eindhovens Dagblad, 09/04/2010
2009 Catalogue ‘Die Zeit of Drawing’| Climate Gallery, New York Catalogue ‘Hiwaar Expo 2060’| Antwerpen