Lieven Leurs (b. 1975) has been painting since a young age. In his hometown of Neerpelt (BE), he was regarded as the local talent during his childhood. He studied at the secondary art school in Limburg and later at Sint-Lucas in Ghent.
His earliest memory goes back to when he was four years old: Lieven wanted to draw a house but did not yet have the skill to succeed. This sense of inability later grew into a continuous search for what lies between abstraction and figuration.
Leurs always starts from the landscape but rarely with a preconceived image. His work emerges in the process itself, from the material at hand. The gesture, the act of painting, is at least as important as the outcome. That is why his works are often intensely reworked, while their final finishing may appear strikingly simple.
The use of materials follows the coincidence of what is available: paint, textiles, leftover brushes, sticks, planks in which he can carve for instance. Experimentation determines the path. The painting must grow until something surfaces—sometimes unexpectedly, sometimes self-evidently—and then he stops, precisely at the right moment.
In addition to his own practice as a painter, he was active for many years with Aorta, helping to set up exhibitions around the world. In recent years, he has dedicated a greater part of his time to his artistic practice.
2000 Graduated at Luca School of Arts, Gent (Meester in de Beeldende Kunst, afdeling Schilderkunst)
2000 Provinciaal Centrum voor Beeldende Kunst, Hasselt
2000 Studio Propaganda, Berchem
2001 Hooghuys, Hamont
2002 André Demedtshuis, Wielsbeke
2003 Witte Zaal, Young Artists, Gent
2005 Galerie EL, Welle
2007 Prijs stad Gent, Sint-Pietersabdij
2009 De Connectie, Campo Santo, Sint-Amandsberg
2011 Huis van de Arbeid, Gent
2012 Canvas collectie, Bozar Brussel
2013 Galerie Cecilia Jaime, Gent
2015 Teer 51, Nieuwstraat, Astene
2016 Teer 51, Nieuwstraat, Astene
2017 Jan Colle galerij, Gent