The young Belgian artist Ben Sledsens (b. 1991) is only just starting his artistic career, yet he has already been embraced by the art world. In his large canvases he translates the classical genres of painting - the portrait, the still life, the interior, the landscape - into the visual language of his own rich universe. He cuts up everyday life and manipulates his experiences. The results appear to be snapshots of the ordinary, which nevertheless always feel special and poetic.
The influence of great masters such as Matisse, Rousseau and Bruegel is never far away in his small utopias. Inspired by nature, Sledsens' works are created organically. No rigid lines or preconceived diagrams, but a naturally flowing reflection of his thoughts at a given moment. It is the very simplicity of his subjects that makes the images so open to interpretation. The viewer completes a narrative that has the potential to run in all directions. Sledsens' canvases, which are literally large enough to step inside, invite you to disappear into your thoughts. Sledsens' works are always subtly interconnected, for example through recurring objects. The ending of one work sows the seed for the next. In this way, it is as though his nascent oeuvre forms one great story.
Text in English and Dutch.
