Paul Kenens

Lives and works in Wilrijk (BE)

Paul Kenens paints ordinary people in their everyday surroundings, children aswell as adults. After completing his series of children playing in the water, his paintings of people get an extra layer for the viewer; an enigmatic reading. By bringing in an additional element, not necessarily related to the subject, he creates curiosity and questions arise. This edgy element makes his art more surreal.
A new work always begins with a photo session. He improvises and takes a few hundred photos which are stored on a PC. The images have to ‘ripen’. After some time, different pictures are edited and adjusted until a certain image no longer lets him go. The first layer is painted in detail as if it is definitive. The painting gets a second layer with corrections in color and shape after which extra details are added.

In each work the artist reveals a piece of himself, hidden for the occasional viewer but recognizable for those who know him. For Paul Kenens there is no particular reason to make art except the personal need to be creative, to “express himself on the highest possible and personal level.” (from a text by “Circle – Foundation for the Arts)