Robilant+Voena is pleased to announce an exhibition of paintings and video works by Antoine Roegiers at our London gallery. Roegiers is a Belgian-born painter who lives and works in Paris. This is his first solo exhibition in the UK, offering an overview of his most significant works from the last twelve years, as well as new paintings on public display for the first time. This exhibition coincides with TEFAF Maastricht for which Roegiers has been selected for a feature in the TEFAF editorial.
In his work, Roegiers enters into the great history of figurative painting. He creates works that evoke the narrative or genre scenes of the Flemish and Dutch Old Masters, in a similar vein to the apocalyptic visions of Hieronymus Bosch or the moralising paintings of Brueghel the Elder. Within this traditional aesthetic, his work reflects contemporary fears and concerns, namely the climate crisis and the global pandemic.
Roegiers' highly detailed paintings draw the viewer into strange and curious worlds, rich in symbolism, which have a timeless quality whilst appearing undeniably contemporary. This is captured strikingly in his animated video works, unique objects that combine the artist's distinguished painterly skills with his interest in 21st century technologies.
Our exhibition offers a panoramic view of more than a decade of the artist's work, both in paintings and video installations. Earlier works such as The Kiss (2014) and the video installation The Seven Deadly Sins (2012) reveal his long-standing commitment to the study of the Old Masters, deepening his personal exploration of painting and his own Flemish identity.
Also included in the exhibition are recent works, including five new paintings, from the ongoing series In the Shadow of the Clouds (started in 2020). In the series, Roegiers creates a fantastical world, transporting the viewer to a vividly imagined quasi-apocalyptic landscape, that combines the aesthetics and tropes of the Flemish and Netherlandish Old Masters with a contemporary liveliness, reflecting the febrile climate of today.