UPCOMING AND CURRENT SHOWS/ WORKS ON VIEW:
GROUP: 24/05 - 31/07/2024: Free Enterprises. Meubart (i.c.w. arteVentuno archives). Diest. BE
with artists: Jorden Boulet, Frank J.M.A. Castelyns, Fred Eerdekens, Ado Hamelryck, Horst Linn, Stefan Serneels,
Luk van Soom, Liliane Vertessen and many more
COLLAB: 21/11/24: Café Costume opening. Hasselt. BE
SOLO: Spring: Antwerp. More info soon.
CONTACT: INFO@JORDENBOULET.BE , INSTAGRAM
Jorden Boulet (Belgium, 1990) is educated as a painter (MFA, 2016) but works project-oriented. Both his work method and his artistic work itself can vary visually according to time, space and context: On the one hand, his artwork can take the form of playful and bombastic installations in which sand, wallpaper, inflatable ‘sculptures’ or other utensils are used. On the other hand, the saying ‘less is more’ may apply, in which for example, he shows a series of abstracted paintings in a tightly directed scenography. Yet his work is coherent because of the constant reference to the idea of paradise.
In our Western society, images of paradise are often seen as cliché images that represent an idyllic world. White beaches, palm trees, a beautiful sunset: these are visual elements that evoke an atmosphere of happiness, joy, perfection and freedom.Boulet is fascinated by this exotic visual culture and how it is used in various designs. He argues that images of paradise can be ambiguously associated or interpreted. Kitsch, decadence, superficiality or deceit are never far away.
In his art Boulet always creates an apparently idyllic and paradisiacal world, but with a twist: A depicted paradise world, which is not real. Consider, for example, the deception of advertising design, the theater of film or the impact of filtered social media. In Boulet’s imagery there is often a great distance, a façade between the spectator and the depicted paradise world. To the artist it is all about contradictions: initially beautiful dream images, but which often provoke an elusive desire and therefore carry a melancholic undertone or layering within.
Although the substantive concept often prevails in Boulet’s art, we also see the literal contradiction in his extreme use of color. From a visual point of view, the Belgian painter distinguishes himself with a bold and extreme use of color. However, Jorden Boulet himself is color blind, experiencing reality and the process of painting in a different manner, resulting in unique contrasts and confident brushstrokes. A recurring motif throughout his oeuvre is a characteristic and abstract écriture, of deceivingly random marks or scribbles on top of the picture. These marks seem to breach the illusion of the paradise, as they emphasize the distance between the viewer and the depicted paradise. Whereas in the past his works of art were initially moralizing as a mirror against the vanity of Western society, today they are rather abstracted and simplified into fragments.
Education
2016 - 2017: SLO, Teacher in visual and audiovisual arts, PXL MAD, Hasselt
2011 - 2016: MFA, Visual arts: Painting. PXL MAD, Hasselt
2009 - 2011: Graphic Design. PHL, Hasselt
2014 - 2015: Master-internship: Studio Peter de Cupere
2013: Exchange project: Fine Arts: University of the West of England, Bristol, UK
Exhibitions (selection)
Group
2024 - Vloedlijn (Curator: Mieke Mels) PXL MAD-Gallery. Hasselt. BE
2023 - La Isla Bonita (Curator: Pieter-Jan Valgaeren). Villa Les Zéphyrs. Westende. BE
2023 - NAFT Kunstenfestival. Zwijgershoek. Sint-Niklaas. BE
2023 - Worth more worth less. K.L.8 exhibition space. Brussels. BE
2023 - Blik op kunst. CC Muze. Heusen Zolder. BE
2023 - Allegorical Conditions. Viewing Room. CAI Gallery. Kortrijk. BE
2022 - Juveniles. BROUSSE (UAU Collectiv). Hasselt.BE
2022 - Kunst op stelten (Curator: The School). RECOR-site. Hasselt
2022 - Intimate Conversations (Curator: Siegfried Beyers/ Ash Bowland). Steigenberger Wiltcher's, Brussels. BE
2021 - Art@work (Curator: Benedict Vandaele). Kasteel De Cellen, Oostkamp. BE
2021 - Blue Moon. Parkstad Limburg Prijs. Maanplein, Heerlen. NL
2021 - Performa 4 (Curator: Laurens Mariën en Lies Serdons). C-Mine, Genk. BE
2020 - Limburg Biënnale (Curator: Joan vBarneveld). Marres, House for Comtemporary Culture, Maastricht, NL
2019 - The waiting room (Curator: Koen Leemans). C-Mine, Genk, BE
2018 - EuroArt (Curator: Bernardus Baldus and Wannes Missotten). Projectspace LOKAAL, Utrecht, NL
2018 - Viriditas (Curator: Pieter-Jan Valgaeren). De Mijlpaal, Heusden-Zolder, BE
2017 - Black: De formidabelen (Curator: Liesbeth Jonckheere). C-Mine, Genk, BE
2017 - Stormram (Curator: Niels Vaes and Gijs Coenen, A2o). Tongeren, BE
2016 - Mad Power (Curator: Peter De Cupere and Annelies Nagels). De Warande, Turnhout, BE
2016 - No Maps for these territories (Curator: Alex Verhaest/ KunstpodiumT). De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam, NL
2016 - Olympus. Kop Artspace, Antwerpen, BE
2016 - La Divina Commedia (Curator: Luk Lambrecht). CC Strombeek, Grimbergen, BE
2015 - The way we look at the other space (Curator: Jolien Dirix). Begijnhof, Hasselt, BE
2015 - Seven days of creation. De Chocoladefebriek, Tongeren, BE
2015 - EXIT15 (Curator: Caroline Dumalin). Herkenrodekazerne, Hasselt, BE
2015 - Godecharle. ARBA ESA, Brussels, BE
2014 - Campus Bokrijk - Openairmuseum Provincial domain, Genk, BE
Solo
2022 - The Poignant Moment. CC De Bogaard. Sint-Truiden. BE
2021 - Apocalypse Now (Curator: Ils Huygens). Z33, House for Contemporary Art, Design & Architecture. Hasselt. BE
2018 - Les fleurs du mal (Curator: Frank Hendrickx). H8x12, Tielt-Winge, BE
2016 - Exchange Promotion (Curator: Maxime van Melkebeke). Offspace.xyz, New York City, USA
2015 - Alors on danse: Yardenit - Gasthuiskapel, Borgloon, BE
2014 - Gay Pastry and Racist Cappuccino (Curator: arteVentuno archives). De Coöperatieve, Hasselt, BE
Residencies
2018 - now: Kunstplaats VONK. Hasselt. BE
2015 - Godecharle. Louvain-la-Neuve. BE
Awards
2015 - Wanatoe Grand Prize. Hbvl. BE
2015 - Wanatoe Prize for Fine Arts. Kunst in Limburg. BE
2015 - Godecharle ARBA ESA (Laureate). Brussels. BE