Stef Driesen was Born in Hasselt Belgium and currently Lives in Antwerp Belgium,Influenced by the works of Northern European Old Masters, Stef Driesen's paintings often incorporate references to art history through their colours, compositions, and subject matter. Through this lineage, Driesen draws from his own personal experiences to create beautifully expressive canvases evoking both emotional and physical sensuality. Using his own sexual identity as a platform for investigation, Driesen's work expands upon the theme of man and nature: each canvas conceals a human form within his abstracted landscapes, creating a symbiosis between the romantic sublime and mortal carnality.
Using a fleshy, earthy palette, Driesen's canvases blur the bounds between tangible and psychological space. Watery grounds, delicate brushwork, and intensified tones lend a sense of dream-like terrain, translating materiality of paint into ephemeral fields redolent with contemplation, desire, and loss. In their poetic articulation, Driesen's paintings convey the intimacy of the human condition, rendering it equally fragile and heroic.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2006
? Alison Jacques Gallery, London
? Scar Lines, Harris Lieberman, New York
2005
? MARC FOXX, Los Angeles
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2006
? MADRe Museum, Naples, Italy
2005
? The Third Peak, Art:Concept, Paris, France
2004
? Michael Bauer, Cris Brodhal, Stef Driesen, MARC FOXX, Los Angeles
Conclusions:
Stef Driesen combines these art historical references with personal narratives in what could be seen as an investigation of his own sexual identity. A figure is always present in or under the painted image, often as a submerged erotic image, and the paintings are imbued with undercurrents of hidden desire.
What to Do Next...
If you want any information about Stef Driesen or looking for his paintings please visit us on http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/stef_driesen.htm
