Peter Depelchin (°Ostend, ’85) grew up at the Western Flemish sea side, spent some years in Italy and New York City and nowadays lives in Brussels. His artwork witnesses of each of these places and unstoppably evokes new places Peter wishes to discover and to interpret through art. This cultural gourmandize is the motor behind his mentality, art and work.

 

Depelchin’s artistic practice is articulated in two main steps: first, a research phase, for which he develops an amount of studies and small writings. These preliminary examinations result in series of sketches or collages. In a second movement, after having studied his subject at length and after having set-up the outlines of the intended artworks, he starts drawing, printmaking, filming or creating installations. The initial sketches are clearly put to use either as a stable point of departure for later artwork, or as autonomous artworks in their own right. Notwithstanding his interest and experience with a variety of media, drawing makes up the core of his artistic practice. The materials he uses to develop allegoric drawings are pen, Chinese ink, bistre and silk paper. This combination justly evokes visionary images with both Eastern and Western cultural influences. Likewise does his grip on several ancient printmaking techniques such as woodcut and intaglio.

 

Peter’s recognizable artistic universe comes into being thanks to an intense art-historical and literary observation followed by a personal interpretation. As a matter of fact, he wants to create a new intercultural imagery containing a symbiosis of art history and topicality and avoiding cultural appropriation. To this end he explores art-historical characteristics of aesthetics and the power originating from an image when reversing its beauty or toying with the significance of artistic subjects, themes, archetypes and symbols: de-contextualization and neo-contextualization. As the recycled images are part of our enormous visual culture, their reinterpretations consequently have a strong effect on the spectator. He wants to break open the collective cross-cultural consciousness, starting from the concept of the ‘human identity’. Hence, he searches for the ‘human being’ and the ‘being human’ exploring humanity. Finally he accomplishes step by step a new, more universal imagery that draws from the past and reflects on the present.

 

Peter has been very active on the international art scene, with residencies in The Netherlands (Vlissingen 2008-2009), in Italy (Rome 2014-2015) and in the USA (New York, 2015-2016), exhibitions in Rome (MAXXI), Brussels (Kasteel van Gaasbeek) New York (Brilliant Champions Gallery) and London (Young Masters). He is involved in an artistic P.hD. program and plans several new exhibitions and residencies in its framework.