Dirk Braeckman

°1958, Eeklo (BE) – lives and works in Ghent (BE)

With their matte surfaces, grey scales and unclear motifs, the black-and- white photographs of Dirk Braeckman are utterly enigmatic, intriguing, suggestive, and raise more questions than they answer. In his images we can distinguish several themes, such as female nudes, curtains, empty corners in rooms, walls, abandoned hotel rooms, etc., remaining highly autobiographical and evading the conventions of documentary photography. His dark room is transformed into a field of experimentation in which Braeckman manipulates the paper, working with the materiality of the picture and revealing influences of light, chance and time.

Dirk Braeckman – installation view at M, Leuven in 2018 (Photo by Dirk Pauwels)

Dirk Braeckman – Ity's been, 2019

Dirk Braeckman – installation view at M, Leuven in 2018 (Photo by Dirk Pauwels)

Dirk Braeckman – installation view at Bozar, Brussels in 2018 (Photo by Sarah Bruyninckx)

Dirk Braeckman has had numerous solo exhibitions, including shows at S.M.A.K., Ghent; De Pont Foundation, Tilburg; Museum M, Leuven; and De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam. His work has also been shown in several group exhibitions, including The Importance of Being… at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Havana, which travelled to Museo de Arte Contemporaneo, Buenos Aires and Museu de Arte Moderna in Rio de Janeiro; National Art Museum of Chine, Beijing; Whitechapel Gallery, London; Haus der Kunst, Munich; and S.M.A.K., Ghent.

The Royal Family of Belgium commissioned the artist for a permanent installation in the Sphinx Room of the Royal Palace in Brussels. His work is represented in many important public collections, such as FRAC Nord-Pas de Calais, Dunkerque; S.M.A.K., Ghent; and Gemeentemuseum, The Hague.

Dirk Braeckman will be representing Belgium on the 2017 La Biennale di Venezia.

Dirk Braeckman is represented by the following galleries;
click through to discover more of his work.

Zeno X Gallery, Antwerp

Galerie Thomas Fischer, Berlin

You can find more works by Dirk Braeckman on his own website.