Hans Op de Beeck Wins XX Edition of Premio Pascali

Hans Op de Beeck, born in Turnhout in 1969, has won the 20th edition of the Premio Pascali. The award was granted by a commission comprising Rosalba Branà, director of the Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali; Danilo Eccher, art critic and curator; and Daniela Ferretti, director of Palazzo Fortuny in Venice. Op de Beeck is a multidisciplinary artist working as a visual artist, playwright, director, set designer, and musician. His work creates psychic dimensions through sculptures, dreamlike installations, and a video titled "The Girl," a site-specific piece premiered at the Fondazione Museo Pino Pascali. The 22-minute animation film explores the unconscious. His sculptures are covered in a soft gray layer, symbolizing the petrification of memory, except for reduced-scale representations of his children, Lauren and Lucas. The miniature "Christmas" living room, in total black, represents absolute solitude during the holiday season. The installation "Table" features a completely white environment with a large table surrounded by abnormally large chairs, evoking the psychic dimension of childhood.