Joris Van de Moortel

Joris Van de Moorte has established himself as a prominent figure in the contemporary Belgian art scene.

Biography of Joris Van de Moortel

Joris Van de Moortel was born in 1983 in Ghent (Belgium). He graduated from the Higher Institute of Fine Arts (HISK) in Ghent in 2009 and continued to refine his skills at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin, where he completed his studies in 2013.

In 2019, Van de Moortel was honored with the Cairo International Biennale award for his participation in its 13th edition.

The artist's talent has been showcased in a series of noteworthy solo exhibitions. These include "Guitare préparée" at Sint-Lukas Galerie (Brussels, Belgium) in 2019; "Cachivage Bugui Bugui" at BOZAR (Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Belgium) in 2018; "Pink Noises," his debut solo exhibition in the United States, hosted at the Savannah College of Art and Design in Atlanta in 2016; and "Ça vous intéresse l'architecture? Botanical vibrations travel through the air tangled as wires, attempting to play with the rhythmic structure" at Centre d'art Be Part (Waregem, Belgium) in 2015.

The impact of Joris Van de Moortel's art extends beyond exhibitions, as his works find a home in significant institutional and private collections around the world. Notable institutions that house his work include the Vehbi Koç Foundation (Istanbul, Turkey), the Dena Foundation for Contemporary Art (Paris, France/New York, USA), the collection of Centraal Museum (Utrecht, Netherlands), the Collection Raja (Roissy-en-France, France), and the Ghisla Art Collection (Locarno, Switzerland).

Joris Van de Moortel's Art Style

Joris Van de Moortel's artistic expression exudes the passionate spirit of concrete music and rock and roll. His process-driven work encompasses sculpture, painting, and musical performance and explores the tension between the static nature of objects and their potential for boundless energy.

In his mixed media paintings, figurative drawings, and sculptures, Van de Moortel weaves together a mesmerizing fusion of musical instrument fragments, neon tubing, and other remnants of performance debris. The harmonious blend of these elements brings forth an unexpected and enchanting sense of harmony.

Similar to how Arte Povera artist Mario Merz employed neon to infuse everyday objects with vitality and blend the organic and inorganic, Van de Moortel constructs vibrant, self-contained settings and uses neon as brushstrokes that break free from representational boundaries. This generates a surge of energy that liberates itself from the confines of the frame.