Berlinde De Bruyckere
Berlinde De Bruyckere
Inspired by themes derived from collective memory, present-day social and political events, mythology, Christian iconography and Renaissance painting, the timeless works of the Belgian (Ghent-based) artist Berlinde De Bruyckere are characteristic of a unique language bridging the archaic with the most contemporary. Making the body, both human and animal, and that of plants, its central motives, the practice of De Bruyckere points to the vulnerability and fragility of the living while addressing themes of mortality and pain, but also of beauty. The sense of ambiguity is a common denominator for most of Berlinde De Bruyckere’s works, a tool allowing for the universality and openness of her work. Using natural and seemingly humble materials such as wax, wood, metal, fabric, or animal skin, her practice transforms organic elements into enigmatic sculptures, where the idea of transformation and metamorphosis relates equally to the work’s materiality, as well as to its manifold conceptual layers pointing to the complex emotional and metaphysical bodily states that are subject to continuous transformation, healing, and rebirth.
Berlinde De Bruyckere was born in 1964 in Ghent, Belgium. Her work has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions in institutions such as the Ernst Barlach Haus (Hamburg, Germany, 2025); a permanent installation at St. Bavo Cathedral (Ghent, Belgium, 2025); BOZAR (Brussels, 2025); Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore, Collateral Event of the 60th Venice Biennale (Venice, Italy, 2024); Artipelag (Gustavsberg, Sweden, 2024); Museu de Arte Contemporânea / CCB (Lisbon, 2023); Diocesan Museum Freising (Freising, Germany, 2022); Arp Museum (Remagen, Germany, 2022); MO.CO (Montpellier, France, 2022); Bonnefantenmuseum (Maastricht, The Netherlands, 2021); Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo (Turin, Italy, 2019); Sara Hildén Art Museum (Tampere, Finland, 2018); Kunsthal Aarhus (Aarhus, Denmark, 2017); Leopold Museum (Vienna, 2016); Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain (Strasbourg, France, 2015); Kunsthaus Bregenz (Austria, 2015); Kunstraum Dornbirn (Austria, 2015); Gemeentemuseum Den Haag (The Hague, The Netherlands, 2015); Kunsthaus Graz (Austria, 2013); De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art (Tilburg, The Netherlands, 2012), which travelled to La Maison Rouge – Fondation Antoine de Galbert (Paris, 2014); Australian Centre for Contemporary Art (Melbourne, Australia, 2012); Arter (Istanbul, Turkey, 2012); Kunstmuseum Moritzburg (Halle, Germany) and Kunstmuseum Bern (Switzerland, 2011); DHC / ART Foundation for Contemporary Art (Montreal, Canada, 2011); and De Pont Foundation for Contemporary Art (Tilburg, The Netherlands, 2005), among others. In 2013, De Bruyckere was selected to represent Belgium at the 55th Venice Biennale, where she presented Kreupelhout – Cripplewood, a collaboration with Nobel Prize laureate and novelist J.M. Coetzee.