Koen Nelissen is a Belgian polyvalent artist and violinist born in Mortsel in 1952.
The artist studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Antwerp and then at the Ghent Conservatory, but ultimately chose not to pursue a professional career in music. Koen began designing toys and game programmes for a television production company and fully devoted himself to art only in his 50s.
Today, the artist’s oeuvre ranges from paintings and sculptures to performances and installations. The works address themes such as faith, frustration, refugees and the environment, among others.
At the core of Nelissen’s artistic practice lies the rare technique of églomisé, also known as reverse painting. Using plexiglass as his canvas, the artist employs the technique to create paintings with unparalleled perspective and depth, establishing himself as a trailblazer of contemporary églomise in the world.
In his sculptural works, Nelissen primarily relies on raw, simple materials as well as discarded objects. Most of the works are made of polymisé, a material the artist developed himself when exploring the impact of light on a surface.
“The installations often refer to current social themes. Geology was also a central theme of the so-called Arte Povera artists, a group that originated in the 1970s and of which my good friend Michelangelo Pistoletto (Biella 1933) is one of the founders. The Arte Povera artists mostly used organic and simple materials (earth, stones, vegetation, ...), and energy sources (water, fire, ...). They elevate the simplest things to the rank of art.”
