Lionel
De guchteneere

After studying graphic design in Belgium, I set up as a freelance graphic designer in 2018, always keeping one foot in my plastic research, which I've been practicing since I was very young.

I've always combined these two correlated practices of graphic design and painting. I work for private and public clients and take part in group and solo exhibitions.

In my work as a visual artist, I'm interested in the symbolism of street furniture, building sites and, more generally, architectural materials as a whole. I divert them from their primary function in order to elevate them to the status of works of art.

As I have a particular affinity for the rough and smooth side of concrete, I like to illustrate the sculptural incarnation that these objects/materials can take on. I like to analyze, torture and reinvent these concepts to the point of drifting towards what I would describe as 2d sculpture.

As opposed to the industrial side that art can take, I advocate the artistic side that "industry" can take. Art and beauty are everywhere, all the time, it's all a question of point of view.

As a street art enthusiast, the art I love takes root in places where it's not necessarily expected, and that's what gives it its primary strength. This postulate goes hand in hand with my approach, which is based on the principle that anything can be installed in art. Art settles in the street and vice versa.

I work mainly on paper and canvas, using charcoal and acrylic paint.

As part of my research, I'm aiming to start working in volume, in sculpture, a practice that would mark the logical continuation, if not the culmination, of the research I've been carrying out on this theme for several years.