In the framework of the Ostend International Photo Biennale 2025, Galerie P. presents Something Going On by Karel Fonteyne.
“But the image can no longer imagine the real, since it is the real. (…)
Reality has been expelled from reality.” (Jean Baudrillard)
Karel Fonteyne, one of Belgium’s most idiosyncratic photographers, has been playing with the boundaries of what we consider “reality” since 1968. His body of work—a labyrinth of solitude, esotericism, and alienating beauty—not only challenges our perception but also the very philosophical concept of representation. In a world that Baudrillard described as a “desert of the real,” where images have lost their original meaning, Fonteyne’s work offers an intriguing counterbalance: not illusions, but play.
From Fashion to Metaphysics
Fonteyne’s career began by accident. Roman Polanski’s film school was his dream, but photography became his canvas. After his studies, he debuted with his first art series “I am who I was,” but it didn’t pay the bills.
He moved to Italy, where he was given carte blanche and worked for 15 years for international fashion magazines like Vogue. In 1994, he returned as an independent artist. His shift to fine art was not a rejection of commercial work but a logical extension of his credo: “I don’t photograph what I see, but what I think.” Fonteyne’s images are not prints of the world but projections of an inner universe. As Baudrillard argues in Simulacra and Simulation, an image is no longer tied to its origin but to the network of meanings it evokes.
Intuition as Method
Fonteyne’s creative process stems from intuition—a flash of an idea. The seeds of his work undoubtedly lie in his childhood: he has an unbridled imagination, which he still indulges today with found objects that he and his wife Carine find fascinating for one reason or another.
In Something Going On, he subtly explores and shifts the traditional idea of ‘natures mortes’ (still lifes) into compositions that no longer stand still. “Dream and reality mirror each other and exist on the exact same level.” He removes the object from its context—just as a chameleon’s skin transforms, so too does the meaning of what is visible. It is up to the viewer to read these new narratives and make them their own.
The Aesthetics of Unease
Fonteyne’s images balance between opposites: violence and vulnerability, fragility and strength. They are visual paradoxes that force the viewer into active observation. Just as Baudrillard criticized the consumption of images as passive submission, Fonteyne challenges us to produce meaning. His work is not a closed narrative but an open question.
“Something Going On”: The Exhibition
The current exhibition “Something Going On” in Ostend (Galerie P+, 6/9–16/11/2025) showcases Fonteyne’s latest work as part of the third International Fotobiennale of Ostend, curated by Stephane Verheye.
In this exhibition, we see how his fascinations converge in images that hover somewhere between dream and wakefulness. In an age where algorithms dictate what is “real,” Fonteyne reminds us of the subversive power of imagination.
Practical Info:
“Something Going On” – 6/9 to 16/11/2025, Galerie P., Kursaal-Oosthelling 8, Ostend.
Opening hours: Wednesday to Friday, 2 PM–6 PM; Saturday, Sunday, and public holidays, 11 AM–6 PM.
Vernissage: Saturday, September 6, at 4 PM, with an introduction by Stephane Verheye, curator of the Fotobiennale Ostend.
Exclusive preview for collectors: Saturday, September 6, at 11 AM. Reserve by messaging [email protected].
The monograph “Spell” on Karel Fonteyne’s work is published by Stockmans Art Books and spans 478 pages.
During the Fotobiennale Ostend, sister gallery Galerie P. will also feature:
- Valérie Naessens, La Brise d’Ostende
- Bart Ramakers, Ex Tenebris Lux
www.galeriep.be
