Painting After Painting

As of today, S.M.A.K. presents a landmark survey of contemporary painting in Belgium, featuring the works of 74 artists born after 1970. Painting After Painting is a comprehensive overview of the Belgian painting scene that seeks to articulate the impact of recent artistic developments and theoretical shifts on the medium.

Over the past two decades, painting has experienced an international resurgence. While this revival is global in scope, it has considerably shaped the thriving Belgian art scene, revivifying a long tradition of painting in the region that can be traced back to Jan van Eyck and the Flemish Primitives. When considering the country’s complex national identity, it becomes nonsensical to limit the significance of Belgian painting to the country’s borders. Therefore, the exhibition seeks to avoid the use of national identity as a criterion in illuminating the landscape of contemporary painting in the country. The featured artists have either lived in Belgium for an extended period or are based in the country. They not only shape the dynamic in the painting scene but also embody its international character.

Despite suggestions of saturation, painting still bears witness to an enduring and collective vitality. It is rich, captivating, dynamic and entwined with the spirit of the age. More than ever, its driving force seems to lie in its narrative capacity. Artists tackle the social issues of the day, addressing capitalist excess, ongoing ecocide and humanitarian and gender-related crises. These global forces inspire the creation of contemporary myths. Shifting perspectives on humanity and the world are portrayed alongside more introspective approaches rooted in the intimacy of the studio, relationships, and familiar surroundings.

Painting After Painting intentionally takes as its starting point the work of a younger generation of painters, while connecting with artists who began to engage with the medium at the turn of the twenty first century. In doing so, it traces the gradual evolution from a time of waning enthusiasm for painting—dominated by post-Duchampian reflections on art, the continued rise of digital art forms and renewed assertions of post-historicity—to a context in which painting practices no longer require justification. The medium’s ability to critically question, defend and reinvent itself over the past century has led it to shed clear definitions. While contemporary painting is not free from ideological tensions, these are not confined to the act of painting alone but extend to a wider discursive landscape. The exhibition therefore outlines broader social paradigms: how does the medium relate to visual culture, modernity, economic value production and technology?

With over 150 works—including several new in-situ creations, most of which have been made in the past three years—the exhibition also features a dedicated painting studio. This space allows individual visitors and groups to engage in their own artistic explorations during the museum’s opening hours.

Painting After Painting is complemented by a richly illustrated catalogue, featuring essays by Dominic van den Boogerd and Tanja Boon. 

Artists: Charlotte Vandenbroucke, Libasse Ka, Hadassah Emmerich, Tatjana Gerhard, Lisa Vlaemminck, Charline Tyberghein, Lysandre Begijn, Marie Zolamian, Veerle Beckers, Matthieu Ronsse, Bart Stolle, Sarah Smolders, Shirley Villavicencio Pizango, Nelleke Cloosterman, Vedran Kopljar (& parents), Thom Trojanowski, Kati Heck, Anne Van Boxelaere, Antoine Goossens, Frederik Lizen, Bram Demunter, Stijn Cole, Nel Aerts, William Ludwig Lutgens, Carole Vanderlinden, Tina Gillen, Joëlle Dubois, Vincent Geyskens, Felix De Clercq, Dieter Durinck, Kristof Santy, Michaël Van den Abeele, Anastasia Bay, Karel Thienpont, Melissa Gordon, Emmanuelle Quertain, Carlotta Bailly-Borg, Jannis Marwitz, Michiel Ceulers, Victoria Palacios, Leen Voet, Monika Stricker, Anna Zacharoff, Gijs Milius, Che Go Eun, Hannah De Corte, Sanam Khatibi, Nokukhanya Langa, Henrik Olai Kaarstein, Natasja Mabesoone, Julien Meert, Aurélie Gravas, Pieter Vermeersch, Jonas Dehnen, Samuel Hindolo, Loïc Van Zeebroek, Helmut Stallaerts, Adam Leech, Louise Delanghe, Brieuc Dufour, Yann Freichels, Anthony Ngoya, Nina Gross, Jérôme Degive & Manuel Falcata, Koen van den Broek, Mae Dessauvage, Ben Sledsens, Julien Saudubray, Diego Herman, Pieter Jennes, Nelson Louis, Luís Lázaro Matos and Bendt Eyckermans

Curated by: Tanja Boon, Ann Hoste, Philippe Van Cauteren, and Liesje Vandenbroeck, in collaboration with Sam Steverlynck.