Dirk Van Opdenbosch

Dirk Van Opdenbosch (1951) studied Graphic Arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Ghent.

During his student years, he received several awards, including the Pro Civitate Prize for Lijn, Kleur, Volume in 1972 and the Rotary Club Belgium Prize in 1976. Alongside his artistic practice, he has consistently engaged with the social role of the artist.

 

Curatorial Projects

As a curator, he has organized a number of exhibitions and art projects that provided opportunities for emerging and established artists.

1997 – North/South – Nord/Sud (Ninove/Lessines)

1998 – North/South – Nord/Sud II (Ninove/Lessines)

2016–2017 – Art in a Box (Antwerp)

Participating artists: Eline De Clercq, Jochem Harteveld, Zero,

Ronny Franceschini, Petra Everaert, Janice Thijs, Olympe Tits, Nelleke Cloosterman,

and Simona Michaela Stoia.

2019–2020 – NEXUS Art Project (Hoboken, Antwerp)

Participating artists: Eline De Clercq, Olympe Tits, Haider Jabar,

Patrick De Necker, and Hind Eljadid.

2022 – Downtown Kiel

Participating artists: Samyra Moumouh, Sefora Sam, and Eline De Clercq.

 

For further information, see Curatorship and Exhibitions.

 

Artist Statement

The human being has always been the central subject of my work. My aim is to reveal the sense of emptiness that exists within each of us. Human beings are fragile, uncertain, and often wounded creatures.

Despite this, I continue to search for what is universal—those deeper instincts that allow us to transcend this inner void. Through my work, I encourage viewers to look beyond their masks, confront the darker aspects of themselves, and accept them. In doing so, they may gain a greater understanding of themselves and a stronger sense of self-control.

My recent drawings are inspired by Butoh, a Japanese dance form that emerged in the 1960s as a response to the post-war climate of pessimism and the devastation caused by the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. For Butoh dancers, movement becomes a reflective dialogue between the body and gravity.