Stijn Bastianen: The Wunderwall Brussels
With his eccentric pictorial language, painter and graphic artist Stijn Bastianen moves every viewer. Absurd motifs transport you to a mental zone where recognition and alienation go hand in hand. An atmosphere that is also strengthened by using different techniques and materials in an eclectic way. Fantasy and free expression brings creator and spectator together in an illogical, surreal context.
During the creative process, the artist's mind is given free rein. Various aspects of Bastianen's personal world are deformed in his thought process. While puzzling, he assembles his mental fragments and then paints a composition that transcends the boundaries of the observable world.
Bastianen' paintings are the result of a struggle between improvisation and coordination that results in an extraordinary pictorial stratification. The imaginary images trigger everyone in a different way. The work often makes us laugh and at the same time can reflect our personal memories and emotions. Bastianen's artistic choice to work with different materials and techniques places his work outside the scope of traditional painting. His imaginary motifs and rich colour palette often make us think of both contemporary graffiti and old comics and cartoons.
