Jesse Willems
Jesse Willems (1984, Antwerp, Belgium)
is a Belgian contemporary artist. He uses his street photography as a base for complex collages, often provoking contemplation and silence. By wrapping photographic prints in the most wonderful paper (often scored from forgotten archives and old stationery shops), he draws our attention to what is often overlooked. By eliminating any superfluous elements, and consciously leaving out all too recognizable items such as letters and symbols, Jesse frees the composition from a limited reading. In recent years, he has evolved towards a restrained style, deriving abstraction from reality.
Jesse’s work is in the collections of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Verbeke foundation, private collections in Europe, Asia and the US, and has appeared in publications such as Billboard magazine (US), The New York Times (US), The Times (UK), De volkskrant (NL),.
Selected Images
Media
Resume of Jesse Willems
Exhibitions
- 2024
-
- Art On Paper, Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels
- 2023
-
- 'Raumdeutung', ZS art, Vienne (Austia)
- 'Silence. Pregnant with Promise', groupshow Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels
- 2022
-
- 'Lido', Zeit Gallery, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Sketch for a summer', Schönfeld Projects, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Kairos', Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels
- 2021
-
- '7x70 That was then, this is now', Zeit Gallery, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Order disorder', ZS Art, Vienna (Austria)
- 2020
-
- 'Barak Friture', Belgian Embassy, Kinshasa (Congo)
- 'Paper Stories', Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels Collage, Museum Dr Guislain, Ghent (Belgium)
- 'Renaissance I', Schönfeld Gallery, Brussels
- 'Renaissance II', Schönfeld Projects, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 2019
-
- '919', Artelli Gallery, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'TBC', Verbeke Foundation
- 'MAS', Antwerpen à la carte, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Barak Friture', Belgian Embassy, Kinshasa (Congo)
- Luxembourg Art Week, Schönfeld Gallery, (Luxemburg)
- Paper Positions, Schönfeld Gallery, Munich (Germany)
- 'Eden', Artelli Gallery, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Belgian Contemporary collage', Verbeke Foundation
- 2018
-
- 'Chresis ton Phantasion', BAD, Solo show, Ghent (Belgium)
- 'Fallen Idols, Native', Solo show, Brussels
- 'MAS' Antwerpen à la carte, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Barak Friture' Belgian Embassy, Kinshasa (Congo)
- 2017
-
- 'The future, and other jet age inventions' Solo show, Samuel Maenhoudt Gallery, Knokke (Belgium)
- 'MAS', Antwerpen à la carte, Antwerp (Belgium)
- 'Barak Friture', Belgian Embassy, Kinshasa (Congo)