Alain Biltereyst: Traces of Abstraction in the Urban Environment

Contemporary Belgian artist Alain Biltereyst works on abstract paintings characterized by bold patterns and colors. Most of the time, the shapes he depicts are not purely the result of chosen arrangements but act as a sort of “found art”: they are extracted from existing signs, advertisements, commercial signage, graphic decorations on trucks, billboards, and streets. These shapes silently inhabit our urban environment, possessing inherent graphical qualities, yet often going unnoticed as backgrounds to typographical signage and commercial messages. Biltereyst selects, isolates, and captures pictures of existing patterns that catch his eye during his day-to-day wanderings. He then carefully paints compositions inspired by his findings, mostly on small canvases. The rough quality of the painting is intended to break away from the pure language of abstraction, making reference to the urban world with its imperfections and grittiness.

Images © Alain Biltereyst, courtesy of the artist.