MICHAËL AERTS

Overview
MICHAËL AERTS
°1979, Dendermonde (BE)
Lives and works in Courtrai, Belgium

Reeds bij een eerste kennismaking met het werk van Michaël Aerts herkent de toeschouwer klassieke vormen uit kunst en architectuur, die zijn oeuvre een toegankelijke en tegelijk intrinsiek waardevolle uitstraling verlenen. Deze herkenbaarheid fungeert echter slechts als vertrekpunt voor een diepgaander onderzoek naar de complexiteit van waarneming, ervaring en beschouwing.

Het oeuvre van Michaël Aerts vertrekt vanuit een fundamentele fascinatie voor de mens als beeldenmaker en vindt zijn oorsprong in archetypische vormen uit klassieke en antieke culturen. Zijn werk is doordrongen van een diepgaande interesse in het onbekende en in de gelaagdheid van kennis en perceptie.

Op het snijvlak van tweedimensionale en driedimensionale kunstvormen beweegt de kunstenaar zich tussen vlakken en volumes, waarbij hij thema’s als tijd, ruimte en de menselijke drang tot begrijpen onderzoekt. Zijn praktijk richt zich op het verkennen van mentale en fysieke ruimtes die zich onttrekken aan directe zintuiglijke waarneming, en nodigt de toeschouwer uit tot een vertraagde, contemplatieve benadering van het beeld.

 

 

At first encounter, the work of Michaël Aerts reveals recognisable forms drawn from art and architecture, lending his oeuvre an accessible yet intrinsically valuable presence. This recognisability, however, serves merely as a point of departure for a more profound exploration of the complexities of perception, experience and contemplation.

Aerts’ practice originates from a fundamental fascination with the human being as image-maker and draws upon archetypal forms rooted in classical and ancient cultures. His work is imbued with a deep interest in the unknown and in the layered nature of knowledge and perception.

Positioned at the intersection of two- and three-dimensional art forms, the artist navigates between planes and volumes, engaging with themes such as time, space, and the human impulse to understand. His practice explores both mental and physical spaces that lie beyond the reach of direct sensory perception, inviting the viewer into a slowed, contemplative engagement with the image.

Biography
MICHAËL AERTS

CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
2026
Anemochorie,  group exhibition, Roeselare, Belgium

 

 

FORTHCOMING EXHIBITIONS

2026
ART BRUSSELS 2026, 23—26.04.26, Galeria Filomena Soares, Lisboa, Portugal

Group exhibition, Gallery EAST, Strasbourg, France

 

2027

Solo exhibition, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

 

Commissioned Monuments

2018

Icon, Bobbejaan Schoepen monument, Lichtaart, Belgium

2017

Slices of Aristoteles, hotel Drie Eiken, Antwerp, Belgium

2015

Pillory, Katoen Natie, Antwerp, Belgium

 

Selected Public Collections

Dinckök Collection, Istanbul, Turkey

Ministery of Foreign Affairs, Belgium

Collection Katoen Natie, Antwerp, Belgium

 
 

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

 

2024

- Toile Blanche : Sessions 6, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France

- The possibility of the simultaneous, HIlde Vandaele Gallery, Watou, Belgium

 

2023

- Michaël Aerts & Vadim Vosters, Kusseneers Gallery, Brussels, Belgium

- Michaël Aerts & Vadim Vosters, Salon 17, Pottes, Belgium

 

2022 

- Launch Catalog + exhibition, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

2021

- Our New Cultures, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

2019

- Planetarium, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

- Caché derrière mes poings, Whitehouse Gallery, Lovenjoel, Belgium

 

2018

- That’s The Way (I Like It), Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

- Inauguration monument Bobbejaan Schoepen, Lichtaart, Belgium

 

2017

- Comme à Ostende, Salon Blanc, Ostend, Belgium

- Slices, Hotel Drie Eiken, Antwerpen, Belgium

 

2016

- Something in the Way, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

2015        

- Michaël Aerts Would Like to Use Your Current Location, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

 

2014

- It was like so, but wasn’t, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

 

2013

- Project Space, ART13, London, UK 

 

2012

- Club 7.5, Paris, France

- Everything Will Burn Baby Burn, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

- New Positions, Art Cologne, Cologne, Germany

 

2011 

- Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail it, upgrade it, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

 

2010

- Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I’m Yours!, Galerie Clara Maria Sels, Düsseldorf, Germany

- An O’Neill Drama, A Whistler’s Mama, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

2009

- Please Please Me, De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam, Netherlands

- Ridge Ecstacy – New drawings and paintings, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

- A Night at the Playboy Mansion, Federico Luger Gallery, Milano, Italy 

 

2008

- Solo Show, Art Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

- The Immaculate Collection, Deweer Art Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

2006

- Onetwenty Gallery, Ghent, Belgium

 

2004

- Galerie C. De Vos, Aalst, Belgium

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

 

2026
- There is a ghost in the room. For sure!, Am Schloß 4, Bedburg-Hau, Germany

24/11/2025 - 25/01/2026

2025

- Spicy Margarita, Katapultt, Scheldewindeke, Belgium

- Black is a colour, Galerie Sofie Van den Bussche, Brussel, Belgium

- The Hand Follows The Mind Part I, Hilde Vandaele Gallery, Kortrijk, Belgium

- The Hand Follows The Mind Part II, Hilde Vandaele Gallery, Watou, Belgium

2024

- An echo in time, Hilde Vandaele Gallery, Watou, Belgium

2023

- Identity and Culture, Gallery Clara Maria Sels, Dusseldorf, Germany

 

2022

- Eden, Augustijnenekerk, Roeselare, Belgium

 

2021

- The shadow of the Cross, Kusseneers Gallery, Brussels, Belgium.

 

2020

- Planetarium, (Kunst achter glas) Onze-Lieve-Vrouw kerk, Dendermonde, Belgium.

 

2019

- Belgian Thoughts, Märkisches Museum, Witten, Germany

- Hopstreet Gallery, Brussels, Belgium 

 

2018

- Under the parachute of colors, Artworks Advisory, New York, USA

 

2017

- On the Go, Kunstroute maART, curated by Monia Warnez, Waregem, Belgium

 

2016

- Coup de Ville, Triënnale for Contemporary Art, curated by Stef Van Bellingen, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium

 

2015

- @yourservice, Egmontpaleis, Brussel, Belgium

- Sweet 18, Kasteel d’Ursel, Hingene, Belgium

- The Drawing Room II, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

- Het Portret van een familie, Directeurswoning, Roeselare, Belgium

 

2014

- Another Dream, Another Sense, Another Mind, Bibliotheek Faculteit Rechtsgeleerdheid, KU Leuven, Belgium

- Capita Selecta, curated by Monia Warnez and Lan Leysen, Broelmuseum, Kortrijk, Belgium

- Collector’s Room #5 - Pleassure, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

 

2013

- Middle Gate Geel 13, curated by Jan Hoet, Geel, Belgium

- Kunst uit privé-bezit, Stadsmuseum, ‘t Schippershof, Menen, Belgium

- Cultural Freedom in Europe - Europ (to the power of), curated by Flip Luyckx, Goethe-Institution Brussels, Belgium 

 

2012

- Save Europian Home, curated by Marina Martiae, Belgrade Cultural Centre Art Gallery, Serbia

- West of East - An Exhibition on Europe in 6 chapters, Gallery for Contemporary Art <<Y>>, Minsk, White Russia

 

2011

- Tender Buttons - Becoming Gertrude Stein, curated by Guy Bovyn, University Ghent, Belgium

- Kunst moet rollen, curated by Elias Tieleman, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Utrecht, The Netherlands

- RAW, curated by Chris Driessen, Lustwarande, Tilburg, The Netherlands

- When the fairy tale never ends, curated by Lara Pan, Ford Project, New York, USA

 

2010

- FAKE!, Zomerproject Beeldende Kunst Aalst, Belgium

- Young Collectors #2, curated by Johan Delcour and Monia Warnez, Sign, Groningen, The Netherlands

- Atmospheres, curated by Lara Pan, Galerie Pangée, Montréal, Canada

- No Contemplation, Federico Luger Gallery, Milano, Italy

- 30 Years Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

 

2009

- Arrivals and Departures Europe, curated by Andrea Bruciati and Walter Gasperoni, Mole Vanvitelliana, Ancona, Italy

- Pandora’s Sound Box, curated by Lara Pan, Performa 09, New York, USA

 

2008

- Update, Deweer Gallery, Otegem, Belgium

- Cuesta, curated by Frederik Van Laere, Tielt, Belgium

- Amusez-vous, curated by Johan Delcour and Mona Warnez, Galerie Koal, Berlin, Germany

- Ephemeral Fringes, curated by Filip Luyckx, Art Brussels, Brussels, Belgium

 

2007

- Versus4, Site Pamele-Maagdendale, Oudenaarde, Belgium

- Nighthawks, curated by Christophe De Jaeger, Avec Dok Noord 4 hal 20, Ghent, Belgium

- Carte blancj-he à l’ Atelier340 Muzeum, Comptoir asbl, Liège, Belgium

 

2006

- Ephemerality, curated by Christophe De Jaeger, Menen , Belgium

- Filiaal van de Hemel, Lokeren, Belgium

 

2005

- Talentbeurs, Atelier 340 Muzeum, Jette, Brussels, Belgium

- Missies, curated by Stef Van Bellingen, De Brakke Grons-d, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 

2004

- Mo(nu)ment@bornem, Bornem, Belgium

- De Alpen, Netwerk, Aalst, Belgium

- Vierkantswortel van het geheugen, curated by Filip Luyckx, Huis Van Winckel, Dendermonde, Belgium

 

2003

- Fame Happening, Festival van Vlaanderen (S-L Platel), Ghent, Belgium

- Collectzie, Muzeum van Deinze en de Leiestreek, Deinze, Belgium

 

2002

- M/V, Kunst-Zicht, Ghent, Belgium

- The Pizza Project, curated by Yasmine Nessah, Thermische centrale, Ghent, Belgium

- Sint-Lukasgalerij, Brussels, Belgium

 

2001

- Coming People, S.M.A.K., Ghent, Belgium

Press
Exhibitions