Didier Vermeiren

Born in Brussels, Belgium, in 1951, Didier Vermeiren is an artist whose practice revolves around repetition, reversal, doubling, and inversion. 

Didier Vermeiren's Art Style

In the 1970s, Didier Vermeiren's early works marked a convergence of conceptual art, minimalism, and the modern sculptural tradition. Over time, the photographic documentation of his artwork gained increasing prominence, eventually evolving into a vital aspect of his practice. Photographs and sculptures began to interact with and influence each other, giving rise to new works in an ongoing dialogue between the two mediums.

In the late 1970s, he shifted his focus to a fundamental question in the history of modern sculpture: the plinth, or base. This exploration led to the creation of "plinth sculptures," marking his introduction to the international art scene. 

The traditional plinth is reimagined and elevated to a sculptural status: plinths stacked upon plinths, transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary; the mold transcends its utilitarian purpose to become a work of art in its own right; replicas assume the identity of the original, while negatives are transformed into positives. These strategies extend beyond sculpture to encompass diverse methods of production, transportation, and presentation.

For Vermeiren, the plinth is not merely a "ready-made" or an object found by chance, but rather it engages with the very essence of the artwork's origin. Employing a genuinely plastic approach, the artist reshapes, refines, and "sculpts" the selected volume using traditional techniques such as modeling, molding, or assemblage.

Exhibitions of Didier Vermeiren's Works

Didier Vermeiren has exhibited his works extensively in numerous solo and group exhibitions. His solo shows have been held at various prestigious galleries and museums worldwide, including Galerie Greta Meert in Brussels, Skulpturenpark Walfrieden in Wuppertal, Centre d’art contemporain in Rennes, Galerie Laurence Bernard in Geneva, Galerie Massimo Minini in Brescia, Galerie Nächst St. Stephan in Vienna, and many more esteemed venues. 

Vermeiren's artworks are featured in numerous prestigious public collections worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington DC, the Tate Modern in London, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Van Abbemuseum in Eindhoven, and the Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht.