Tim Van Laere Gallery in Antwerp presents No Denial, No Explanation, a solo show by Belgian artist Dirk Braeckman. This is his first solo show at this gallery, which took over the artist’s representation following the closure of Zeno X at the end of 2023.
Braeckman, who represented Belgium at the 57th Venice Biennale in 2017, is renowned for his stilled, enigmatic visual language—one that continuously questions, suspends, and redefines the photographic medium. His austere, often monochromatic images oppose the velocity and superficiality of today’s visual overload. They urge the viewer to slow down, to look more attentively, and to embrace ambiguity.
Over the past year, Braeckman has been the subject of two major solo exhibitions at leading museums in Belgium and the Netherlands: the Kunstmuseum Den Haag (in dialogue with Leon Spilliaert) and the Fotomuseum (FOMU) in Antwerp. Continuing the approach initiated at the latter – where he used images from the museum’s collection as a starting point – Braeckman draws for this exhibition on his own archive: an unruly, inexhaustible trove where negatives often disappear for years. The gap between capture and selection is essential: time detaches the image from its original context, stripping it of anecdote and allowing new meanings to surface. This temporal distance helps Braeckman to recognize the “right” image—one that he can continue to evolve in his studio.
By revisiting his own archive with fresh eyes, he gives the images the opportunity to speak of what has remained unspoken.
Dirk Braeckman : No Denial, No Explanation
May 22 – July 5, 2025
Tim Van Laere Gallery Antwerp
Jos Smolderenstraat 50
2000 Antwerp, Belgium
www.timvanlaeregallery.com
