Hans Op de Beeck

° 1969

Born in Turnhout (BE), lives in Brussels (BE).

Hans Op de Beeck determines the ultimate medium of his work through a search for the most effective presentation of an idea. Hitherto, his oeuvre includes sculptures, installations, videos, photography, animation, drawings, paintings – and he also writes.

The work of Op de Beeck focuses on the ambiguity caused by the mechanisation – and mediatisation – of reality as most people experience it. He chooses to work with icons of contemporary city life such as highways, swimming pools or exhibition halls. Op de Beeck never shows the moment when something happens but always the moment just before or just after. In his videos, he also occasionally stages human activity, such as a banquet or a parade.

What matters, ultimately, is the visual statement. In the case of Op de Beeck, the latter is dreamy and melancholic, suspended between detached and involved observation.

Items View all

Insert Coin - Highway Car

Hans Op de Beeck, Insert Coin - Highway Car, 1999. Installation, mdf, speakers, monitors, hard disk, electronics, 140 x 60 x 70 cm, 00:01:30.

Exercising Nowheres 2

Hans Op de Beeck, Exercising Nowheres 2, 2000. Installation, mdf, primer paint, 2k-spray paint, plexi, metal, maquette 1: 39,5 x 129 x 86,5 cm; pedestal 1: 126,5 x 129 x 80,5 cm; maquette 2: 90 x 150 x 180 cm; pedestal 2: 101,5 x 150x 180 cm; whole work: 193 x 281,5 x 180 cm.

Location I

Hans Op de Beeck, Location I, 1998. Installation, wood, polystyrene, sand, glue, pvc, plastic, plexi, glass, electronics, frescolithe paint, lamp, 188 x 310 x 260 cm and 320 x 400 x 500 cm.

Merry Go Round

Hans Op de Beeck, Merry Go Round, 2005. Print, lambda print, 89 x 59 cm.

Events View all

The collection XXXIII – T...

07 June 2013 - 22 September 2013.
The character of a collection reflected the current priorities of the M HKA collection: the evaluation of Antwerp’s avant-garde tradition; th

EXTRA MUROS: Visite Herze...

03 April 2015 - 03 May 2015.
Under the umbrella term Visite, the M HKA - in collaboration with LOCUS, the nerve centre for libraries, cultural and community centres and l

Museumnacht: Topstukken i...

01 August 2015.
Some highlights from the M HKA collection were taken from the dark museum depots and polished to be shine only one night. But lighting lacks.

Visite Herentals - Reflec...

04 March 2017 - 26 March 2017.
From 4.3.2017 on M HKA brings a number of works from the permanent collection into Le Paige castle. A local artist reflects on the work of an