You still have a couple of days to see the exhibition by Bruno V. Roels, titled Artificial Paradise (Photographs & Artefacts) at Gallery FIFTY ONE & FIFTY ONE TOO.This exhibition invites the viewer to immerse themselves in a world where art, the search for meaning, and sensory exploration converge. The title of the exhibition is inspired by Charles Baudelaire’s essay Les Paradis Artificiels (1860) which examines the complex relationship between substances and creation, while raising questions about inspiration and ecstasy, whether natural or induced. Through this series, Roels revisits Baudelaire’s reflection on paradise, continuing the quest for these “artificial paradises”; spaces created by man, far removed from nature, where the search for inspiration and ecstasy takes on an ephemeral yet timeless form.
For the artist, paradise is neither a geographical place nor a mere spiritual concept: it is a pursuit, a constant interrogation. In his works, he explores several facets of this elusive concept. First, as a historical idea: paradise as a mythical place that may have existed in the past, an Eden lost, referenced in ancient texts like The Epic of Gilgamesh. Next, it takes on a religious dimension, as a state of well-being or transcendental consciousness, a place one enters after death as a reward for a virtuous life. Finally, paradise has an economic dimension: an idealised vacation state, where all material needs are satisfied.
However, for Bruno V. Roels, paradise is fundamentally tied to his artistic practice: a mental space where the artist has the time, space, and means to create works he deems beautiful and meaningful. Artificial Paradise becomes a world where the artist offers visions of spaces or objects created by man, which, while distant from nature, offer a semblance of transcendence. Through this exploration, Roels seeks to express the idea that art, though grounded in the material world, can offer an escape, an elevation to purer or more intense states, similar to imagined paradises.
The works presented in the exhibition cover a variety of media. First, the photographs, which shift between black and white and colourful compositions. The inclusion of two silkscreen prints on canvas further enriches the visual narrative, blending photography and printmaking in a testament to Roels’ ever expanding experimental oeuvre. The introduction of colour, even more prominent than in the artist’s previous works, injects new, vibrant energy into his creations. Recurring motifs – such as palm trees, repetition, and darkroom experimentation – serve as temporal and aesthetic markers. These motifs, combined with the use of colour, deepen the notion of immateriality and transience that runs through his work.
The artefacts on display include ceramics, bronze sculptures, plaques, talismans, and tiles. Each of these creations, illustrates the fragile boundary between everyday reality and what could be perceived as a “paradise”. Some artworks evoke the idea of relics from another time, suggesting the remnants of a paradise now lost, almost archaeological in nature.
Bruno V. Roels explores the boundary between the real world and dreams of escape, playing with mediums and colours to create a universe where each piece evokes a lost world, an inaccessible paradise. In conjunction with the exhibition, Gallery FIFTY ONE is proud to publish a new book of Bruno V. Roels.
Bruno V. Roels : Artificial Paradise (Photographs & Artefacts)
Until February 21, 2026
Gallery FIFTY ONE
Zirkstraat 20
2000 Antwerp
www.gallery51.com
FIFTY ONE TOO
Hofstraat 2
2000 Antwerp
+32 (0)3 289 84 58
