Walter Swennen. The Phantom of Painting

Publication accompanying the great retrospective of the artist Walter Swennen.

Walter Swennen is a painter, born in Brussels in 1946. Like others of his generation, he approaches and explores the medium in new ways by applying principles from other disciplines.
Swennen's work constantly challenges the viewer. His paintings demand slow and careful inspection. The layers of paint often hide a veritable battlefield of attempts, corrections, words and messages. His Dutch-speaking family suddenly began speaking French when he was five years old, and language games accordingly form an integral part of his art. A painting by Walter Swennen is not just a result, but also a process, which allows us to trace the path taken by the artist to achieve the ultimate 'visible' image. A key constant is the pleasure he derives from the battle with the paint. Non-conformist that he is, Swennen paints on anything: from canvas to wood to discarded camping tables, stoves and even washing machines.
Walter Swennen's long and varied career deserves to be recognised by a wide public for its radical nonconformism and the influence that the artist still exerts on young artists today. Swennen is represented by the Brussels Xavier Hufkens Gallery and the Gladstone Gallery in New York, and won the prestigious Ultima award for lifetime services to the visual arts in 2019. His work can be found in numerous museum and gallery collections.
This book offers a wonderful overview of his oeuvre and is the catalogue to an international solo exhibition which launches in Kunstmuseum Bonn (June-August 2021) before travelling to Kunstmuseum Den Haag (autumn 2021) and Kunstmuseum
Winterthur (spring 2022).

With textual contributions from Daniel Koep, Konrad Bitterli and Stephan Berg.

De in Brussel geboren Walter Swennen (°1946) is schilder. Net als anderen van zijn generatie benadert en verkent hij het medium opnieuw door principes uit andere disciplines toe te passen. Het werk van Swennen daagt de kijker telkens weer uit. Zijn schilderijen vragen erom langzaam en aandachtig bekeken te worden. Onder de lagen verf schuilt vaak een slagveld van aanzetten, correcties, woorden en boodschappen. Doordat zijn Nederlandstalige familie plots Frans begon te spreken toen hij vijf was, maken taalspelletjes integraal deel uit van zijn kunst. Een schilderij van Walter Swennen is niet alleen een resultaat maar ook een proces. We registreren de afgelegde weg naar het uiteindelijk 'zichtbare' beeld. Een belangrijke constante is het plezier dat hij aan het gevecht met de verf beleeft. Non-conformist als hij is, schildert Swennen op alles: van doek over hout tot afgedankte kampeertafels, fornuizen en wasmachines.

De lange en veelzijdige carrière van Walter Swennen verdient erkenning bij het grote publiek om zijn doorgedreven non-conformisme en de invloed die hij nog steeds op jonge kunstenaars uitoefent. Swennen wordt vertegenwoordigd door de Brusselse galerie Xavier Hufkens en de New Yorkse galerie Gladstone, en won de prestigieuze Ultima-carrièreprijs voor beeldende kunst 2019. Zijn werk bevindt zich in tal van museumcollecties. Dit boek biedt een prachtig overzicht van zijn oeuvre en is de catalogus bij een internationale solotentoonstelling die van start gaat in Kunstmuseum Bonn (maart-mei 2021) en nadien doorreist naar Kunstmuseum Den Haag (najaar 2021) en Kunstmuseum Winterthur (voorjaar 2022). Met tekstbijdragen van Daniel Koep, Konrad Bitterli en Stephan Berg.

Publication accompanying the great retrospective of the artist Walter Swennen.

Walter Swennen is a painter, born in Brussels in 1946. Like others of his generation, he approaches and explores the medium in new ways by applying principles from other disciplines.
Swennen's work constantly challenges the viewer. His paintings demand slow and careful inspection. The layers of paint often hide a veritable battlefield of attempts, corrections, words and messages. His Dutch-speaking family suddenly began speaking French when he was five years old, and language games accordingly form an integral part of his art. A painting by Walter Swennen is not just a result, but also a process, which allows us to trace the path taken by the artist to achieve the ultimate 'visible' image. A key constant is the pleasure he derives from the battle with the paint.

Publication accompanying the great retrospective of the artist Walter Swennen.

Walter Swennen is a painter, born in Brussels in 1946. Like others of his generation, he approaches and explores the medium in new ways by applying principles from other disciplines.
Swennen's work constantly challenges the viewer. His paintings demand slow and careful inspection. The layers of paint often hide a veritable battlefield of attempts, corrections, words and messages. His Dutch-speaking family suddenly began speaking French when he was five years old, and language games accordingly form an integral part of his art. A painting by Walter Swennen is not just a result, but also a process, which allows us to trace the path taken by the artist to achieve the ultimate 'visible' image. A key constant is the pleasure he derives from the battle with the paint.