Gallery de Uitstalling portrays Bert Daenen

Successful exhibition travels throughout Europe from 2020 onwards

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One of the major eye-catchers during the annual “MoMent” culture festival in Tongeren were undoubtedly the portraits of photographer Bert Daenen. The monumental, though modest portraits adorned the Onze-Lieve-Vrouwe Basilica of Tongeren. The timeless artworks made such a big impression that they did not escape the national press and art world.

His portraits don’t tell anecdotes but transcend daily reality. They invite you to pause for a moment, to open yourself to the richness of the image, to look for the story that it tells you.

Bert paints with light. He plays with color and contrasts. He forces your attention to the center of the action: the face and hands. The women in his photos look subdued, musing, focused, deep in thought. Sometimes their gaze is down, some of them look at you. They are separate from a concrete environment, which puts them at the center of attention. They seek connection with the visitor who in turn wants to escape here from the hectic pace and worries of every day. Bert’s art refers both to the atmosphere that painters such as Vermeer or Rembrandt evoke in their portraits, and to the work of Bill Viola or that of photographers such as Dorothea Lange, Man Ray, Walker Evans who can capture the emotion of a life in one image. After that first glance, he invites you to look further. The seemingly black areas that surround the faces appear to contain a wealth of hues with details that reward the meticulous viewer.

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“Bert was expected to fit the portraits in the sacral atmosphere of the ancient basilica. The photographer succeeded in Cum Laude.”
- Rudi Smeets, De Standaard

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“Very beuatiful photos. Tender. Moving. Silent. I read all kinds of stories.“

- Michiel Hendrickx, Photographer

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