Philip Metten

Philip Metten is a Belgian artist born in Genk in 1977 and based in Antwerp. He works across various mediums including sculpture, drawing, interior and building design. His practice blurs the boundaries between sculpture and architecture, often creating works that are both mask and architectural model, heraldic sign and urban topography, ancient emblem and futuristic insignia.

Metten's work draws on a range of references, from ancient sculpture to modernist and postmodernist architecture, as well as science-fiction film and experimental cinema. His daily drawing practice serves as the foundation for his work, providing the basic schemes for his sculptures, prints, wall reliefs, and architectural projects.

Metten has exhibited extensively, including a solo show at the art centre Z33 in Hasselt titled "Innercoma" in 2010, the renovation of a bar in Antwerp called "Bar" in 2013, and the scenography for a group show at Extra City Kunsthal in Antwerp titled "The Corner Show" in 2015. He has also created the facade design for the Kai Matsumiya art gallery in New York titled "153. Stanton" in 2015.

In 2022, he designed the interior for a restaurant called ESSEN in Borgerhout, which he had initially shown as a preliminary stage at Netwerk Aalst. Overall, Metten's work combines ancient and modern references in a unique visual language that connects the future with prehistory.