Melancholy, nostalgia, fragility or darkness, but without being sombre? Duality is probably key in the still young body of work of Gert Motmans. It balances between figurative and abstract, complexity and a – deceitful – simplicity. The graduate from the royal academy of Fine Arts, visual artist and fashion designer puts his identity, personality, personal experiences and dreams first in his collages. Motmans’ pictures express a desire for another world. A longing for familiarity and nostalgia. At the same time his images seem to embrace a threatening, futuristic vision.
The fragile works seem to feed on romanticism as well as minimalism. It shows a sense of great tenderness and sensuality but also of apprehension, a slight fear to possibly lose something.