↳ Exhibitions

Michiel Ceulers at De Garage

February 11, 2022

Artist: Michiel Ceulers

Exhibition title: Comment Tuer L’amant de Sa Femme Quand on a Été Élevé Comme Moi Dans la Tradition

Venue: De Garage, Mechelen, Belgium

Date: December 10, 2021 – February 20, 2022

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and De Garage, Mechelen

Comment Tuer L’amant de Sa Femme Quand on a Été Élevé Comme Moi Dans la Tradition.The title of Michiel Ceulers’ (b. 1986, Waregem) exhibition leaves no room for doubt: Ceulers’ practice asserts its place in the long tradition of painting but does so by questioning both that tradition and the artist’s relationship to it. Much like the character in Jacques Brel’s song, from which the exhibition takes its title, the artist was trained in classical painting. At the same time, he wants to escape the pressures of the medium’s rich history.

The works shown by Michiel Ceulers at De Garage are not answers, but hypotheses in which diverse influences, materials and stylistic features meet. The paintings are always self-contained objects. They use motifs to exist, to come into being, but often immediately puncture the illusion of representation. The viewer’s gaze is thus thrown back on itself. Rather than compelling a single reading, the often playful titles given to these works situate the medium within the broader meanings of both higher and lower culture.

Although Ceulers is primarily known for his abstract paintings, De Garage presents a selection from the past fifteen years of his work. This exhibition shows a trajectory from figurative to abstract and back again, in which the constantly recurring intention to renew the medium forms the core of his oeuvre.

On the occasion of this exhibition, Stockmans Art Books is issuing a publication for the first time presenting an overview of the already considerable career of this still -young artist.

Michiel Ceulers, Comment Tuer L’amant de Sa Femme Quand on a Été Élevé Comme Moi Dans la Tradition, 2022, exhibition view, De Garage, Mechelen

Michiel Ceulers, “Der Maler”, 2008, 70h x 50w cm oil paint on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Trouble Spot Painting”, 2008, 45h x 61w cm oil and acrylic on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Who’s afraid of Red White & Blue (non political painting)”, 2008, 80h x 60w cm oil paint on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Chocolate Fingers”, 2009, 50h x 52w cm oil on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Das Ding an Sich”, 2009, 70h x 50w cm oil and spray paint on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Le fils du Boeuf”, 2009

Michiel Ceulers, “The result of the equation trying to balance itself out”, 2010-2011, 43h x 30w cm gloss and spray paint on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Lovebird”, 2010, 50h x 72w cm oil and spray paint on wooden board

Michiel Ceulers, “Al draagt een aap een gouden ring het is en blijft een lelijk ding”, 2011, 50h x 50w cm oil, gloss and spray paint on wooden board

Michiel Ceulers, “Lighten up Morresy (Mon Dieu)”, 2011, 90h x 80w cm oil, spray paint and encaustic in artist frame cardboard

Michiel Ceulers, “Even a clock that doesn’t work is right twice a day (The applaus simply dies)”, 2012, 109h x 131,5w cm oil and spray paint on canvas in artist frame cardboard

Michiel Ceulers, “Ich versteh nur Bahnhof”, 2015, 70h x 50w cm gloss paint, varnish and Dymo strips on canvas

Michiel Ceulers,”Picasso at the Lapin Agile / De Slag om de 20e eeuw / Clash of the Titans”, 2016-2020, 108h x 112w cm oil, acrylic, encaustic, gloss paint, plastic foil, cardboard letters and silicone on wood in artist frame styrofoam

Michiel Ceulers, “Schwules Babys / Liza Minelli est une traîtresse”, 2017-2020, 48.5h x 71.5w cm, oil, encaustic, acrylic, caulk, staples on milk cardboard on wood

Michiel Ceulers,”Exorcism of overdue whimsy / post modern archetype”, 2018-2020, 125h x 120w cm gloss, acrylic, oil, caulk on wood and canvas inserted in canvas frame

Michiel Ceulers, “Hunnefeier (Chickpea painting)”, 2020, 40h x 40w cm gloss paint, spray paint and oil on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “L’art est plagiat ou révolution, ce qui importe est le lien entre l’expression et la chose”, 2020, 51h x 46w cm latex, spray paint, and oil on wood; artist made cardboard frame

Michiel Ceulers, “Pearl thrown random in a space”, 2020, 43h x 53w cm gloss paint, spray paint and oil on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Round brackets (also called parentheses, especially in American English)”, 2020, 30h x 30w cm gloss paint, spray paint and oil on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Section 215 is the canary in the coalmine”, 2020, 50h x 49w cm oil, acrylic, spray paint on wood, mirror in artist made cardboard and Styrofoam frame

Michiel Ceulers, “The Last Song / Boy Blue / Together Again / Three letters took him to his final resting place (TLC Waterfalls)”, 2020, 80h x 60w cm latex, gloss paint, oil, wood, Perspex, and gummy letters on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Title VII”, 2020, 60h x 60w cm acrylic, latex, oil, and lids on canvas on wood in artist made cadapac frame

Michiel Ceulers, “Une allégorie du ready- made où les artistes qui peignent abandonnent leurs pinceaux pour choisir des objets du quotidien comme le peigne (DA DA DA.)”, 2020, 59h x 46w cm oil, encaustic, spray paint, combs, and caulk on wood in artist made Styrofoam frame

Michiel Ceulers, “Je veux jouir dans tes jeux / manger le ciel (hommage a John Giorno)”, 2021, 42h x 47w cm acrylic, oil, gloss paint, silicone and Perspex on canvas on wood

Michiel Ceulers, “La Bonne Nouvelle (Personal Values)”, 2021, 69h x 60w cm inkt, gloss paint, encaustic on canvas

Michiel Ceulers, “Minenfeld für Rezensionen _ eine Lehrstunde in Liebe (die Großzügigkeit der anderen)”, 2021, 77h x 100w cm oil, encaustic, spray paint, gummies, and glitter on canvas on board

Michiel Ceulers, “Sex auf der Kinoleinwand / Sex auf der Leinwand / Sex auf der Filmleinwand”, 2021, 151h x 101w cm oil, ink and gloss paint on fabric closet

Michiel Ceulers, “Sick Puppy in Window (after Kathe Burkhart)”, 2021, 250h x 200w cm acrylic, latex paint, silicone and glitter on canvas and wooden board