Koen van den Broek
°1973, Bree, Belgium.
Lives and works in Antwerp, Belgium.
Born in 1973 in the Belgian town of Bree, Van den Broek first studied architecture and subsequently painting, initially at the Royal Academy of Antwerp and then at the Academy of Visual Arts of Breda. In his opinion, despite his painting studies, he has always remained an architect at heart. Ever since his student days, van den Broek has travelled constantly: around Europe, to the USA, Mexico and even to Japan. Always with his camera close to hand. He takes photos, a lot of photos, which all depict the same subject: the architectural interventions of man on the landscape.
Early in his career, Koen van den Broek developed a fascination for desolate landscapes in which man rarely appears, but always makes his presence felt. He depicts the traces left behind on roads, streets and houses that have been abandoned. The artist’s perception of roads and borders in barren lands has provided the painter with impulses that enable him to make his specific statement on landscape painting. Van den Broek operates by turning his face downwards and zooming in on the irregularities of the pavement, on curb stones and shadows. It is this very search for a subject of representation that led the artist on a journey closer to abstraction.
Works by Koen van den Broek are part of major public collections, including the LACMA, Los Angeles; SMAK, Ghent; M HKA, Antwerp; Busan Museum of Art, Busan; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Astrup Fearnley Museet, Oslo; Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe, and Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle. His work has been presented at the Venice Biennial (2015 & 2017); White Cube, London; Kunstmuseum, Bonn; Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Antwerp and Brussels; Seoul Arts Centre, Seoul; Kunsthalle, Mannheim; Royal Academy, London; MAS, Antwerp, and Kunsthal, Rotterdam; His work can also be found in numerous public spaces in Belgium, such as the Hofkamer, Antwerp; ‘t Zilte, MAS, Antwerp; AZSM Hospital, Mechelen, and the Provinciehuis, Hasselt.
Selected exhibitions:
Solo Exhibitions:
2024 ‘Out of Place’, M H KA, Antwerp (BE)
2024 ‘Of(f) Road’, Ludwig Museum, Koblenz (DE)
2024 ‘Broken Road’, Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2024 ‘Ribbons’, Galerie Greta Meert (BE)
2023 ‘Of(f) Road’, Kunstmuseum Magdeburg, Magdeburg (DE)
2023 ‘The Real World’, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B)
2023 ‘The Coin Toss’, de Boer gallery, Los Angeles (US)
2022 ‘Firminy’, Chambre Avec Vue, Saignon (France)
2022 ‘Warm Comfort’, De Buck, Saint-Paul-de-Vence (France)
2021 ‘Tango in Paris’, Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2021 ‘Through Romance’, curated by Luk Lambrecht, Lempertz, Brussels
2021 ‘In between Memory and Dream’, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2020 ‘The Beginning’, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam (NL)
2020 ‘WALL WORKS’, De Garage, Mechelen (B)
2019 ‘Keep it together’, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B)
2019 ‘The Dog’, Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2018 ‘A Glowing Day’, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2016 ‘Behind the Camera’, Philipp von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2016 ‘Borderline’, Antwerp Tower, Antwerp (B)
2016 ‘The Land of Milk & Money’, Museum Weserburg, Bremen (DE)
2016 ‘The Light We Live In’, Gallery Albertz Benda, New York (US)`
2015 ‘Sign Waves’, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2015 ‘The Del’, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B)
2014 ‘Cut Away the Snoopy’, Marlborough Contemporary, London (GB)
2014 ‘Armco’, Figge von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2013 ‘Zylon’, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2013 ‘Yaw’, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B)
2013 ‘Apex’, Friedman Benda Gallery, New York (US)
2013 ‘Borders’, Spinnerei, Leipzig (DE)
2012 ‘Chicane’, Marlborough Contemporary, London (GB)
2012 ‘Koen van den Broek, From The East To The West And Back’, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2012 ‘Shadows’, Museo Alto Garda – Arco, Palazzo dei Panni (IT)
2011 ‘Koen van den Broek, Insomnia And The Greenhouse’, Friedman Benda Gallery, New York (US) 2011 ‘Koen van den Broek, Comin’ Down’, Figge von Rosen Galerie, Berlin (DE)
2010 ‘WHAT?’, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B)
2010 ‘JOURNEY’, Figge von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2010 ‘Curbs & Cracks’, S.M.A.K., Ghent (B)
2010 ‘Preview, Works on Paper by Koen van den Broek’, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSKA), Antwerp (B)
2009 ‘Koen van den Broek, “Shadows of time” Black Polyurethane on Inox’, MDD, Deurle (B)
2008 ‘This an example of that’, Collaboration with John Baldessari, Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels (B) 2008 ‘This an example of that’, Collaboration with John Baldessari, Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht (NL)
2008 ‘Out of Space’, Figge von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE) 2008 ‘Who will lead us?’ Art Brussels, (winner of the Illy Prize), Brussels (B)
2007 ‘Angle’, White Cube, London (GB)
2006 ‘Dante’s View’, Figge von Rosen Galerie, Cologne (DE)
2005 ‘Paintings from the USA and Japan’, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle (B)
2004 ‘Koen van den Broek, 1999 – 2004’, DA2 Salamanca (ES)
2003 ‘Threshold’, White Cube, London (GB)
2002 ‘Les charmes discrets de l’art flamand contemporain: Koen van den Broek’, Chapelle des Pénitents Blancs, Gordes (FR)
2001 ‘Borders’, White Cube, London (GB)
2001 ‘Koen van den Broek: Schilderijen/Paintings’, Z33, Hasselt (B)
2000 ‘Koen van den Broek’, Cultural Centre Hasselt (B)
1999 ‘Koen van den Broek’, Galerij Art 61, Hever (B)
1998 ‘Koen van den Broek’, Bernarduscentrum, Antwerp (B)
1997 ‘Koen van den Broek’, Galerie Hellinga Beetsterzwaag, Amsterdam (NL)
Group Exhibitons
2025 In Dialogue with Ilse D’Hollander, Verduyn Gallery, Moregem (B)
2024 25 Years of Galerie Ron Mandos, Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam (NL)
2024 Drawing Biennial 2024, Drawing Room/Tannery Arts, London (UK)
2024 Aesthetic Echoes, PLUS-ONE Gallery (SOUTH), Antwerp (B)
2023 Crash Test, PONTI gallery, Antwerp (B)
2023 The city is elsewhere. Revision of a dream, Museum unter Tage, Bochum (DE)
2023 Brilliant Cut, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2023 Give me an answer, artist studio of Marie Cloquet, Ghent (B)
2022 Indexing the Nature: From Near and Far Away, N0.9 Cork Street, London (UK) in collaboration with Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2022 Project Palace, a centenary, Bozar, Brussels (B)
2022 Antwerp Universal, Het Leienpaleis, Antwerp (B)
2021 The Little Catalogue of the SMAK collection, SMAK, Ghent (B)
2021 FIAT Lux, Pilar, Elsene (B)
2021 Gifted, SMAK, Ghent (B)
2021 City Trip, CC De Steiger, Menen (B)
2020 No More Boring Art! (part 2), Selection collection S.M.A.K, PXL-MAD School of Arts, Hasselt (B), 12 November – 16 December
2020 Critical work. For life and how we live it, Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, (DE), 30 June – 27 September
2020 Muurschilderingen, Roger Raveelmuseum, Zulte (B), 8 March – 7 June
2020 No More Boring Art!, Selection collection S.M.A.K, PXL-MAD School of Arts, Hasselt (B), 20 February – 31 March
2020 BANG BANG, TICK TACK, Antwerp (B)
2019 Time will tell, MoMeNT, Tongeren (B)
2019 Di fuochi e accesi sensi, Greta Meert Galerie, Brussels (B)
2019 GENESIS, L.A.C., Narbonne (FR)
2019 Uit beleefdheid, MuHKA, Antwerp (B)
2019 Bruegel’s gaze: reconstruction of the landscape, Dilbeek/Brussels (B) (Public space project - sculpture)
2019 Highlights for a Future: 20 years S.M.A.K., S.M.A.K., Ghent (B)
2019 Salon de Peinture, MuHKA, Antwerp (B)
2018 The Flâneur – From Impressionism to the Present, Kunstmuseum Bonn (DE)
2018 NAP, Curated by Joost Declercq and Charlotte Crevits, Ron Mandos Galerie, Amsterdam (NL)
2018 Koen van den Broek & Jakub Rehak, Sint-Alegondiskerk, As (B)
2018 20 Years NICC – Jubilee, A4 works, NICC, Antwerp (B)
2018 139 x Nothing but Good, PARK, Tilburg (NL)
2017 Kunstlicht, Fuhrwerkswaage Kunstraum, Cologne (DE)
2017 Vloed, Art Center Ten Bogaerde, Koksijde (B)
2017 Le Paysage en Question, Centre d’Art Contemporain de Châteauvert, Châteauvert (FR)
2017 Intuition, Group show during the Biennale of Venezia, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (IT)
2016 Schilde Kiest Kunst, A selection from the Province of Antwerp Collection, Museum Albert Van Dyck, Schilde (B)
2016 Duikboot, Koningklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Antwerpen (KASKA), Antwerp (B)
2016 DE-GENERATIES, Elias et ses compagnons de routes, De Markten, Brussels (B)
2016 Urgent Conversations: Athens - Antwerp, EMST, Athens (GR)
2016 Prelude / Subversion, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2016 Museum Dirk de Wachter, Borderline Times, Museum Dr. Guislain, Ghent (BE)
2015 The Importance of Being, Contemporary art from Belgium in Latin America, Museu de Arte Moderna, Rio de Janeiro (BR)
2015 Unterseeboot über Malermeister, Cultuurcentrum, Mechelen (B)
2015 Good Morning, Hallo, G2 Kunsthalle, Leipzig (DE)
2015 The Corner Show, Extra City, Antwerp (B)
2015 Proportio, Group show during the Biennale of Venezia, Palazzo Fortuny, Venice (IT)
2014 De Vierkantigste Rechthoek, Belgische kunst in perspectief, KAdE, Amersfoort (NL)
2014 Muhka Extra Muros – Visite, C-Mine, Genk (B)
2014 Museum to Scale 1/7, Kunsthal Rotterdam, Rotterdam (NL)
2014 Dialogen, C-Mine atelier Piet Stockmans, Genk (B)
2014 Passions Secrètes, Tripostal, Lille (FR)
2013 Museum to scale, Royal Museum of Fine Arts (KMSK), Brussels (B)
2013 Happy Birthday Dear Academie, MAS Antwerp, Antwerp (B)
2013 Art Attack, Oud-Pand Sodermans, Hasselt (B)
2013 Works with paper, Marlborough Contemporary, London (GB)
2012 Belgium Contemporary Now, Gallery Baton, Seoul (KR)
2012 Biënnale van de Schilderkunst: De mens in beeld, Roger Raveel Museum, Zulte Machelen (B)
2011 Jan Van Imschoot, Koen van den Broek, Wilfried Vandenhove, Brandstrup Gallery, Oslo (NO)
2010 14th Vilnius Painting Triennial: False Recognition, CAC, Vilnius (LT)
2010 Does city/Münster matter?, AZK Münster, Germany (DE)
2009 A Story of the Image, Shanghai Museum, China (collaboration MuHKA Antwerp)
2009 Fading, Museum Elsene, Brussels (B)
2008 Fantasy, curated by Koen van den Broek, Museum for Contemporary Art (MuHKA), Antwerp (B)
2008 Academia. Qui es-tu?, Chapelle de l’Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris (FR)
2007 The Floor, Zwarte Panter, Antwerp (B)
2007 Vanaf Nu!.., LLS387, Antwerp (B)
2006 Open Space, Art Fair, Cologne (DE)
2006 Beaufort 2006, Ostend (B)
2006 Freestate, Ostend (B)
2005 Royal Academy Illustrated 2005, Royal Academy, London (GB)
2005 Prague Biennale 2, Prague (CZ)
2004 Direct Painting, Kunsthalle Mannheim (DE)
2004 Karel Appel, Onderweg. reis van Rudi Fuchs langs de kunst de lage landen, Centre for Fine Arts (Bozar), Brussels (B)
2003 Once Upon a Time: Een blik op de kunst in de jaren ’90 in België, Museum for Contemporary Art (MuHKA), Antwerp (B)
2003 Matisse and Beyond: A Century of Modernism, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), San Francisco (US)
2002 Wim Catrysse, Koen van den Broek, Leen Voet, Gallery James Van Damme, Brussels (B)
2000 Prix de la Jeune Peinture Belge, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (B)