Helmut Stallaerts

The odd one out

Man is undoubtedly the central motif in Helmut Stallaerts’ complex and broad oeuvre. It is not man in the here and now, but alienated man, blurred and absent. In a rather theatrical and often awkward way, he shows himself, poses for his audience. The actions he undertakes frequently smack of an undefined ritual. There is nothing comical about the absurd atmosphere created in this way; on the contrary, it is very strange and dark. The environment by which his human existence is framed is similarly alien: without any anecdotal detail, sterile and cold. The obsessive aesthetics that Stallaerts develops in his oeuvre creates a sacred dimension through which the works always relate to one another. This context creates a core around which all his works circulate. This enigmatic core, however, remains open: one can merely get closer to it, but never actually reach it. An exhibition by Helmut Stallaerts has the power to generate a view on the mysteries of being; it also confronts us with a truth that remains dark and that unhinges our own fictive truths.

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    Helmut Stallaerts

    Painting after Painting

    5 April 2025 – 2 November 2025 05.04.2025 – 02.11.2025
    S.M.A.K., Jan Hoetplein 1, 9000 Ghent (BE)

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    20240611_DeWarande1991_web

    Helmut Stallaerts

    HYBRIDEN - Composite creatures from fables, myths and legends

    8 June 2024 – 17 November 2024 08.06.2024 – 17.11.2024
    Cultuurhuis de Warande, Turnhout (BE)

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    Capture d’écran 2018-04-28 à 13.43.34

    Helmut Stallaerts

    Catastrophe and the Power of Art

    6 October 2018 – 20 January 2019 06.10.2018 – 20.01.2019
    Mori Art Museum, Tokyo, Japan

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    Helmut Stallaerts

    Lolo's Entanglements

    15 September 2018 – 9 December 2018 15.09.2018 – 09.12.2018
    Cultuurhuis de Warande, Turnhout (BE)

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    Screen Shot 2017-09-26 at 15.33.07

    Helmut Stallaerts

    Les imaginaires d’un monde in-tranquille

    9 July 2017 – 15 October 2017 09.07.2017 – 15.10.2017
    CAC Meymac, Abbaye Saint-André

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