STELLA VAN DEN EERTWEGH

Since the passing of my father in 2023, art became an essential part of my life. The creation of art gave me meaning by anchoring the passage of time and letting me escape into fantasy, something that often has a bad reputation in a world that’s very serious. But for me, making art is a magical moment. My process is often intuitive and clumsy, starting with simple drawings or collage, and evolving through a dialogue with the work itself. It sparks joy to experiment, to fuck-up or to make accidents and show people how wonderful imperfection is. For this reason, I do not only use acrylic and oil paints, but I also enjoy experimenting with unconventional materials like dish soup, red wine, balloons or old pieces of already painted canvas.

Other than enjoying and needing art-making, it also helps me understand myself and the world in a different way, sometimes showing me parts (of myself) that were previously hidden. As I continue to define my artistic voice, my current work explores themes like family, grief, transcendence, and the journey from life to death. With these topics I aim to create work that invites reflection and connection. In a world where divisions often seem insurmountable, I hope my work reminds viewers of the common ground we share with the hope of inspiring understanding, transcendence and meaningful dialogue. Making and sharing art is something that we always did, and I think need. That is why a big part of my life is also about education, because making art beats looking at art every time!