Parigi, 13 ottobre 2025 – Op de Beeck richiama la suggestiva eco del significato ambiguo del termine «Vanishing» riportandolo al campo linguistico, «scomparire improvvisamente e completamente», oppure, in termini matematici, «divenire zero». L’artista è affascinato dai momenti nei quali gli esseri umani divengono brevemente «niente» o «nessuno», rinunziando a una comprensione linguistica, logica e razionale del mondo, scivolando così in uno stato di auto-perdita e atemporalità.
ON VANISHING
To inaugurate the new season, which in 2026 marks its 60th anniversary, the Templon Gallery is presenting a unique project with Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck from September 13 to October 31, 2025. Following the conclusion of Nocturnal Journey, Op de Beeck’s critically acclaimed institutional solo exhibition at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp, On Vanishing showcases a cohesive collection of recent and new sculptures, watercolors, and an animated film.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
Echoing the ambiguous signification of «Vanishing», with a linguistical meaning; «disappearing suddenly and completely», or, in mathematical terms, «becoming zero», Op de Beeck is fascinated by the moments in which human beings briefly become nothing or nobody, relinquishing a linguistic, logical, and rational understanding of the world and slipping into a state of self-loss and timelessness.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
His renowned monumental, often monochrome, sculptural installations that plunge visitors into silent and introspective universe, explore temporality, memory and the human condition. Op de Beeck uses both minimalist as well as most ornate aesthetics to evoke scenes, equally familiar as mysterious, where the apparent simplicity of the form discreetly contains an emotional richness and a complexity of references. His fictitious interiors, outdoor scenes, still lives and human figures seemingly frozen in time Op de Beeck seeks to capture suspended moments, fragments of life, lying outside linear narrative. This approach along with its treatment of the human body and spaces embraces the legacy of both classical sculpture as well as cinematographic imagery, while distancing itself from that same legacy with forms of abstraction in its representations. In contrast to classical statuary and its glorification of the individual or divinity, Op de Beeck strives to express the fleeting nature of existence, opting for a form of universal melancholic anonymity.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
This “Wunderkammer” like double exhibition, designed as a cabinet of curiosities, is imbued with the subtle presence of the marvelous, rooted not in a sense of whimsy but rather in the sculptures’ capacity to interpret reality and create an enigmatic, dreamlike atmosphere. Op de Beeck’s sculptural works with their soft, velvety monochrome skin, alongside his new black and white animated film and watercolour paintings, amplify the sensation of worlds suspended in time and space. The viewer is invited to partake in a form of active contemplation, discovering in turn a seated little girl with angel’s wings lost in her thoughts, a classic display cabinet showing a nocturnal pier with a Ferris wheel under a starry sky, or a life size enigmatic horseman with a little monkey on his shoulder holding a parasol over his head.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
The way the artist plays with the perception of scale and atmosphere sparks a disconnect, a feeling of strangeness when confronted with scenes lifted out of the ordinary. Each work offers us the seed of yet another possible story. With his characteristic grey tones and carefully thought-out staging, Op de Beeck transforms the prosaic into an almost magical experience where simplicity gives birth to the unexpected and a moment of wonder.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
ABOUT HANS OP DE BEECK
Hans Op de Beeck was born in Turnhout, Belgium, in 1969. He lives and works in Ghent and Brussels. His work has been widely exhibited in solo and group exhibitions internationally. He works across a wide variety of media and forms, steadily developing a versatile body of work that includes immersive installations and sculptures, video works, texts and drawings, photography, and watercolor paintings. For the past decade, Op de Beeck has also been active in theater, opera, and contemporary dance as a playwright, stage director, scenographer, and costume designer. He is perhaps best known for his monumental, immersive, sensorial installations: enigmatic, fictional scenes frozen in time that visitors can walk through or sit within, evoking silent contemplation and moments of wonder. His distinctive body of work delves into the complex relationship between humans and the world around us, while also addressing universal questions about the meaning of life.
On site view of the exhibition “On Vanishing”, 2025 ©️ Laurent Adeline
INFO
Hans Op de Beeck
«On Vanishing»
until October 31, 2025
Galerie Templon
30 rue Beaubourg
75003 Paris
Galerie Templon
28 rue du Grenier-Saint-Lazare
75003 Paris
Tuesday – Saturday, 10am – 7pm
