David Claerbout

Belgian artist David Claerbout is renowned for his innovative works encompassing photography, video, digital technology, and sound.

Biography of David Claerbout

Born in 1969 in Kortrijk, Belgium, David Claerbout pursued his education at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and the Rijksakademie of Visual Arts in Amsterdam. Currently, he resides and works in both Antwerp and Berlin.

The artist also participated in the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program from 2002 to 2003. In recognition of his artistic contributions, David Claerbout received the Will-Grohmann-Preis from the Berlin Akademie der Künste in 2007 and the Peill-Preis from the Günther-Peill-Stiftung in 2010. 

His work is part of major public collections worldwide, including the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich, Germany; the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto, Canada; The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis; the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington D.C.; S.M.A.K in Ghent, Belgium; The Margulies Collection in Miami, Florida; the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Collection François Pinault in Italy; FRAC Nord Pas de Calais in France; Galerie Neue Meister in Dresden, Germany; GAM Galleria D’Arte Moderna et Contemporanea in Turin, Italy, and many others.

David Claerbout's Art Style

The artist manipulates both moving and static imagery to allude to an otherworldly plane of existence, something that may refer to a particular place or event, but its timeline remains ambiguous, oscillating between the past and the present.

Sound plays a crucial role in many of Claerbout's works, serving either as a narrative tool or as a "guide" for viewers to navigate the architectural space within the film. Claerbout body of work is characterized by meticulous attention to production details, often painstakingly crafted over several years. The final result is immersive environments that invite viewers to engage with them philosophically and aesthetically.