9th Biennial of Painting

Stories from the Ground

Below our feet, the Eurasian Plate is slowly shifting, while postcolonial and environmental challenges are forcing us to rethink notions of identity, class, and hierarchy.

The artists in Stories from the Ground address the ecological, material, social, symbolic, and spiritual dimensions of painting, telling stories about today's globalized world.

Some artists trace new ideas of the sublime in their collaboration with dirt, earth, and soil; other artists redefine the concept of “ground” through painterly protocols. In contrast, others explore adjacent media ecologies of printing or photography.

In each of their maverick practices, painting takes a prominent place: As a productive refusal, as a tool to open up new uncommon perspectives, and as a language to tell stories. These shared narratives provide sparks from which future planetary commonalities can emerge so that the universal and personal can reconcile as the symbolic and the real.

By using a selection of modernist works from the collection and long-term installations in and around the museum as a starting point, new perspectives are also provided on local art historical narratives.

About the Biennial of Painting

In three exhibitions, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Roger Raveel Museum and the Museum of Deinze and the Leie Region engage their historical collections with the works of contemporary artists. Through current perspectives, they aim to explore the art of painting over the past hundred years. The unique setting of the Leie Region plays a pivotal role in the background, inspiring generations of artists.