From the mid-nineties, Philippe Vandenberg used words in his drawings. Later, in Molenbeek, he filled sheets of paper with colourful inscriptions in English, French and Spanish. Drawing after drawing sprang to life on the floor of his studio. These were attempts at reflection, according to Vandenberg, mantras from the seclusion of his workspace, such as “Il me faut tout oublier” (“I must forget everything”) or “Tuons le chien aujourd’hui” (“Let’s kill the dog today”). The inscriptions attest to hope, fury and loneliness, but also to evil, as if Vandenberg is also recording slogans from a threatening outside world.

About Philippe Vandenberg

Philippe Vandenberg’s (1952-2009) drawings and paintings strongly denounce humanity. They are moving, provocative and force us to reflect. The central theme is man’s struggle with himself and others, observed through the lens of cultural, political and social history. In Vandenberg’s art, this struggle is often critical, sometimes compassionate, but always imagined in rich colour and with a pinch of humour.

Since the founding of the Philippe Vandenberg Foundation in 2009, his work has been discovered across the globe. His art has been shown in solo exhibitions in Hamburg, New York, Paris, London and Seoul among others. In 2020, the first institutional exhibition in Belgium on Vandenberg since his death was held in BOZAR under the name Philippe Vandenberg. Molenbeek.

About the Philippe Vandenberg Foundation

In The Philippe Vandenberg Foundation generously keeps the legacy of Philippe Vandenberg mobile. The Foundation operates on national and international levels and has three objectives: to manage the artist’s estate and studio, to facilitate research into his oeuvre and to make his work more accessible in dialogue with artists, researchers, curators and the public. Around the year, they offer visits to his studio in Molenbeek.