TOM LIEKENS (Belgium, 1977)
Tom Liekens enjoys a unique position in the Belgian art landscape. Both his subjects and the way in which he elaborates them into monumental paintings and collages make him one of the most original painters of his generation. His interest in nature is striking. He is fascinated by the unrealistic way in which fauna and flora are presented in paintings, in fairy tales or in films. The artificial world of zoos, natural history museums and tropical greenhouses is also a permanent source of inspiration. Again and again his work is overloaded with art and cultural-historical references.
Tom Liekens lives and works in Antwerp where he graduated in 1999 from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Since then he has participated in numerous exhibitions, won the Camille Huysmans Prize for Painting (2006), and was nominated for the Visual Arts Prize of the Province of Antwerp (2005). Four large monographs of his work have already been published. His work is part of numerous private collections as well as public collections such as the Museum of Contemporary Art (MUHKA), Bank Belfius, National Bank Belgium, Artesis Antwerp University, Antwerp University, Art collection Province of Antwerp, the Phoebus Foundation and the Museum Van Bommel-Van Dam Venlo.
Most recent solo exhibitions of his works include Sauvage, CC De Bijl, Zoersel (2021), Reptile Room, Galerie Bart, Amsterdam (2021), Dog Years, Galerie De Zwarte Panter, Antwerpen (2020), In the Eye of the Tiger, Kloser Contemporary Art (2020), Tom Liekens in Het Duivelsteen, Geraard De Duivelsteen, Gent (2019), Het Einde van een Sombere Dag, Hugo Voeten Art Centre, Herentals (2019), One Million Years BC, Galerie De Zwarte panter, Antwerpen (2017), The Land that Time forgot, Light Cube Art Gallery, Ronse (2017), and Lust For Life, Galerie De Zwarte panter, Antwerpen (2016).
TOM LIEKENS
1977
BELGIUM
Forest Fight
2022
Collage of Woodcuts and Monotype on Canvas
170 x 250 cm
TOM LIEKENS
1977
BELGIUM
Barbizon
2016
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
200 x 350 cm
TOM LIEKENS
1977
BELGIUM
Kongo Room
2014
Woodcut and Monotype on Canvas
200 x 300 cm
TOM LIEKENS
1977
BELGIUM
Taxidermist
2014
Oil and Acrylic on Canvas
150 x 200 cm