Rinus Van de Velde's First Solo Show in Rome at Tim Van Laere Gallery

Belgian artist Rinus Van de Velde (born 1983 in Leuven) presents his first solo exhibition in Italy, titled 'I am done singing about the past', at Tim Van Laere Gallery inside the 16th-century Palazzo Donarelli Ricci in Rome. The show features large-scale charcoal drawings, colored pencil and oil pastel works, and a cardboard sculpture from his film 'A Life in a Day'. Van de Velde describes his practice as an 'imaginary biography' embracing a multiverse of narratives. He studied sculpture but shifted to drawing, which he considers the heart of his work, citing Walter Benjamin's distinction between vertical painting and horizontal drawing. After a decade of black-and-white charcoal drawing, he introduced color via colored pencil, then found oil pastel to match charcoal's expressive power. He combines image and text, influenced by Dada, Surrealism, Fluxus, and conceptual art, but avoids conveying a single message. He rejects the role of truth-teller, aligning with Joseph Beuys' myth-making. Van de Velde uses alter egos to explore different worlds and bypass space-time laws. He views AI as a fascinating new medium that challenges authorship. The exhibition is curated by Francesca de Paolis, who interviewed the artist for Artribune.