Simon Van Parys (°1986, based in Ghent, BE), earned his MFA degree in sculpture from KASK/School of Arts in Ghent in 2010. Instead of following the trends of his era, Simon opted to concentrate on creating hand-modeled, futuristic sculptures. After graduation, he established his studio in Ghent and started his career as a professional artist. From 2010 to 2015, he focused on developing his own formal language and style for his sculptures and chose to adopt a low-profile exhibition approach. He saw exhibitions as a means to test and gauge his artworks with the public.
Since 2016, Simon has expanded his artistic practice to embrace multimedia, producing his own techno music and crafting soundscapes from project recordings that serve as tailored soundtracks for his sculptures, often integrated with built-in speakers to create immersive audiovisual experiences. He also develops digital drawings and laser projections that dramatise his sculptural works. In recent years, Simon has taken a decisive step into the world of artificial intelligence, training open-source models on his own oeuvre and running them locally on a dedicated offline machine. Fully in his hands and beyond external control, this approach allows him to generate entirely new sculptures and environments in his recognisable style. Sandwiched within a predominantly handmade process, these AI outputs broaden his imaginative universe and act as catalysts forworld building, which he then translates back into tangible form through clay modelling, drawing, and sculpture. Ultimately, AI serves as a tool for invention, while the physical act of making remains at the core of his practice.
Simon has engaged in various international collaborations since 2016. His work method typically involves arriving in a new city, barely knowing anyone, and having one month to figure out all the practical details and deliver a full solo-show for the local public. Simon has conducted international solo-projects in cities such as London (UK), Buenos Aires (AR), Hong Kong (HK), Neuchatel (CH), Montevideo(UY), Shanghai (CN), Tehran (IR), Antofagasta (CL), Trier (DE), and Plovdiv (BG).
In 2018, Simon was awarded a Development Grant by the Flemish Government for his interdisciplinary approach. He subsequently served as an advising expert for the cultural grant approval committee of the Flemish Government in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Art schools frequently invite him as a jury member or guest lecturer, reflecting his active role in shaping and supporting contemporary artistic practice. Beyond his own studio, Simon applies the full range of in-house techniques developed in his practice to commissioned projects within the arts, including sound design, scenography, furniture design, welding, and graphic design.