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Koen Theys

@koen.theys

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Some works at the Cyfest17 international media festival which takes place from October 15 2026 till January 17 2027 at the Cafesjian Center for the Arts in Yerevan, Armenia. - 1: #alexandradementieva 2: #zhuanhan 3: #beatrijsalbers & #reggytimmermans 4: #williamlatham 5: #mathieuzurstrassen 6: #annafrants 7: #levmanovich 8: #marcelaarmas 9: #aernoudtjacobs 10: #koentheys - #cyfest #contemporaryart #videoart #mediaart by @koen.theys

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16 hours ago

Last week, I had the great pleasure of staying for a few days at the beautiful home and studio of artist @pietdielemanatelier and his wife @ellengoeseije in Middelburg, the Netherlands. Truly one of the most beautiful studios I have ever visited - a dream for any artist. It was a privilege to meet such positive, intelligent and generous people.

#pietdieleman #pietdielemanatelier #artistatelier #artiststudio by @koen.theys

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a month ago

‘Tendrils’, a small but very nice duo show of #ellystrik and @ricardo_brey at @stichtingik in Middelburg (the Netherlands), curated by @piet_dieleman
Till 15.11.2026 - Dam 6B, 4331 GJ Middelburg NL

#ricardobrey #stichtingik #pietdielemanatelier #middelburg by @koen.theys

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a month ago

Featured artist @koen.theys

Koen Theys (°1963, Brussels, Belgium) investigates how Western visual traditions and cultural icons can be deconstructed and reread in relation to contemporary social tensions. In The Wall of Man, this research takes the form of twelve ceramic faces, complemented by a separately presented face, together forming a fragile “wall” of human types. Theys uses techniques such as doubling, shifting, and distortion to gradually undermine the recognizability of the face, rendering identity both legible and unstable. The work reflects on how group formation and collective identity function, and how the individual relates to or is subjected to them. By isolating one face from the group each day during the exhibition, the logic of the mass is literally dismantled, shifting attention toward the fragility of individual representation within a collective structure.

Clay Matters runs until 29 August.

Image
Koen Theys
Wall of Man, 2017
Glazed ceramic
130 x 167 x 15 cm

#koentheys #claymatters #keteleer #keteleergallery taken in KETELEER GALLERY by @koen.theys

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2 months ago

‘The Wall of Man’ (2017)
After the summer break, this work is on view again from today till august 29 at the show ‘Clay Matters’ in Keteleer gallery, Antwerp.

The work consists of thirteen ceramic heads, one of which is positioned apart from the other twelve. Every few days that head is replaced by another one from the group, so that a different figure is expelled from the group each time.

At first glance it appears to be an ethnographic or antropological piece (the title also refers to the antropological exposition ‘The Family of Man’ by Edward Steichen (1955)), yet it has nothing to do with science. It is impossible to find a specific system of classification for these heads - weather based on gender, race, age or anything else. Any attempt to do so inevitably leads to a dead end.

After all, art has nothing to do with science. Science seeks solutions, whereas art aims to make us come to terms with the fact that for many things (like death) there simply are no solutions. To attempt to link art to scientific objectives, but also to social or economic ones, is to attempt tu curb its disruptive, dramatic power.

This does not mean that art cannot make statements about scientific, social/political or economic matters, or that it lacks scientific, social/political or economic value, but art should not follow the rules of other disciplines; it must create its own rules.

These were a few of the thoughts I had while creating this work.

#koentheys #keteleergallery #thefamilyofman #ceramics #thewallofman by @koen.theys

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2 months ago

A short visit to the amazing place of the plaster cast workshop of the Museum of Art & History in Brussels, where even the plaster copies of the original sculptures have their own history.

#sculptures #plastercast #artandhistorymuseumbrussels #koentheys #plastercastworkshop by @koen.theys

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3 months ago

Me and Mimi (respectively 63 and 1 year old), the wonderful daughter of my fantastic neighbors Aicha and Matthieu.
I love children and apparently they love me too. When I am in a company with children, they are guaranteed to be hanging around my neck after 5 minutes. I must have a strange attraction to them, likely because I enjoy acting silly with them. But 20 minutes with them is enough for me; after that, I am happy when they can return to their respective parents. I myself have never wanted children, simply because it didn’t fit into my way of thinking. I had just as little need to become a father as I have never felt the need to become for example an astronaut. But that does not mean that I don’t like children. However, since Dutroux, Vangheluwe and others, an older man’s interaction with children has become a suspicious activity. The innocence is gone from what is actually such a beautiful relationship. What these people have caused to relationships between the elderly and the young is comparable to what the Nazis caused to the German language. Since then, it has become difficult to read or listen to that language without occasionally feeling fragments of the Third Reich running through it. In a similar way, it happens that I feel uncomfortable today when children come to hang around me again or sit on my lap. Every move you make could be misinterpreted. When I proudly showed the photos above to a few friends, their first reaction was: ‘Oh, a little dick! … or no, it’s your thumb! Hahaha!’ Well… I guess things will probably never be the same again?

#oldandyoung by @koen.theys

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3 months ago

Some works from the show ‘Clay Matters’ at Keteleer gallery in Antwerp.
1-2: @cameronjamiestudio
3-4:: @patrickvancaelenberghe
5-6: @johan_creten
7-8: @lucamonterastelli
9: @valgerdursigurdardottir
10: @koen.theys

#keteleergallery #koentheys #ceramics #sculptures #ceramicarts by @koen.theys

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3 months ago

‘Clay Matters’ a group show with ceramic works by: Luca Monterastelli, Valgerdur Sigurdardottir, Clara Spilliaert, Koen Theys, Patrick Van Caeckenbergh, Justine Grillet, Cameron Jamie, pei-Hsuan Wang and Johan Creten.

Opening: saturday 27.06 from 2 till 6 pm.

#keteleergallery #koentheys #ceramicsculpture #ceramics by @koen.theys

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4 months ago

Some works at the show ‘Vanitas - The Beauty of the Ephemeral’ in La8, Baden-Baden, Germany. From march 28 till september 20 2026,

1: Daniel Spoerri
2: Arnulf Rainer
3: Cornelius Völker
4: Johannes Hüppi
5: Arscubis
6: Gavin Turk
7: Melanie Richter
8: Marc Felten
9: Benjamin Moravec
10: Koen Theys

#la8 #koentheys #benjaminmoravec #danielspoerri #vanitas by @koen.theys

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7 months ago

‘The Vanitas Record’ (2005) will be on view at the show ‘VANITAS die Schönheit des Verganglichen’ in museum La8 in Baden-Baden, Germany from 28.3.2026 till 20.9.2026.
Lichtentaler allee 8 - 76530 Baden-Baden

#la8 #vanitas #koentheys #escautville #keteleergallery by @koen.theys

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7 months ago

‘Hello World!’ (2025)
Epoxy, polyurethane, electric wires, oil
190 X 58 X 26 cm.

#helloworld #koentheys #keteleergallery #sculpture #basrelief by @koen.theys

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9 months ago