Frank JMA Castelyns walks the world as an artist looking for a philosophy. Significant events and symbols stimulate his senses and his empathy, resulting in images with sensitizing qualities and beauty. The aesthetic layer always comes first, then the deeper layer of meaning which is supported by the ‘memory functions’ of the images. Memories have the tendency to fade away slowly, but a word, an image or an association can stir up these memories. Maybe Castelyns’ images are primarily ‘reminders’, symbols with a great sentimental value, which go beyond the automatic process of observation and understanding. Castelyns’ art originates from the sensitive intellect and stimulates on an intellectual level. In each image a mental plan unfolds which entails rich art and social historical stories, traditions, images or characters. The inherent landmarks stimulate the observer to recollect and discover stories, messages or meaning. Sometimes meaning can be exciting, sometimes even shocking or open, but it is always sensitive. Castelyns’ art travels between different worlds, marking common ground.
(Adriaan Gonnissen)
TEXTS
ARTICULATION
Text artists’ book ARTICULATION by Adriaan Gonnissen
English - French - Dutch
Exhibition text ARTICULATION by Volkmar Mühleis - M HKA - Antwerp, 15.10.2015 - 26.10. 2016
English - French - Dutch
TICKER THOUGHTS - On Frank JMA Castelyns' Ticker Tape by Volkmar Mühleis 2021
Solo exhibitions (selection)
| 2023 | TOPOGRAPHY OF THE INVISIBLE, Gallery EL, Welle (B) |
| 2022 | Brass casting, Vitrine # 133, Library LUCA School of Arts, Brussels (B) |
| 2020 | Permanent drawing on skin for H.S. / Spiegel - Vitrine # 118, Mediatheek, ArTEZ University of the Arts, Zwolle (NL) |
| 2017 | 90° above and/or 90° below the horizon, H8x12, Tielt-Winge |
| 2015 | Articulation, INBOX, M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp, (BE) |
| 2011 | North, East, South, SECONDroom, Antwerp (BE) |
| 2011 | Locomotor apparatus, Frans Masereel Centrum, Kasterlee (BE) |
| 2009 | The North, East and South, New York City, 5 locations (USA) |
| 2008 | Plexus II, Queeste, Arnhem (NL) |
| 2008 | Mortificatio (remember Rosa Luxemburg), City centre, Arnhem (NL), 2008 |
| 2008 | Artaud vous adresse la parole, On 5 locations, city centre, Arnhem (NL), 2008/07/11 |
| 2006 | Plexus, Queeste, Arnhem (NL) |
| 2001 | Enfin, il a été decidé d’adopter un symbole, S&S Gallery, Antwerp (BE) |
| 2000 | Introspection, Space Alfa, Cultural Centre, Hasselt (BE) |
| 1999 | Les conditions transparentes, FLA & CC Gallery, Genk (BE) |
| 1998 | Amor fati, Il Ventuno, Hasselt (BE) |
| 1997 | Décomposition, Central Library, La Louvière (BE) |
| 1995 | Metamorfose, SI & LA Gallery, Antwerp (BE) |
| 1989 | Passanten 79-89, Frans Masereel Centre, Kasterlee (BE) |
| 1985 | Frank JMA Castelyns, Electrum Gallery, Arnhem (NL) |
| 1982 | Frank JMA Castelyns, Siegfried De Buck Gallery, Ghent (BE) |
Group exhibitions (selection)
| 2024 | The Garden of Love, Gallery P, Ostend (B) |
| 2024 | FREE ENTERPRISES, meubartl, Diest (B) |
| 2023 | SEIN UND ZEIT, Gallery EL, Welle (B) |
| 2023 | Les Marcel / R. PATT, Le Botanique, Brussels (B) |
| 2022 | XX YEARS, Gallery EL, Welle (B) |
| 2022 | BOLERO an international art project on the move, Location in public space simultaneously in KYIV (Ukraine) and KASSEL (Germany) during DOCUMENTA 15 |
| 2022 | Dimensions of Settlement, Neck of the Woods, Rotterdam Art Week (NL) |
| 2021 | METALLURGY SHOUTING BIRDS & HIEROGLYPHS, gallery EL, Welle (B) |
| 2021 | BOLERO, an internation art project on the move at the Centre André Malraux, the neighbourhood of the Grand Mare and in the rue des Bons Enfants in downtown Rouen (FR) - Curator Edith Doove |
| 2021 | Ticker Tape, NICC Brussels - Antwerp (BE) |
| 2020 | Le chinois aux pinces d'or, M HKA, Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (BE) |
| 2019 | 'aha', studio - project, Antwerpen (BE) |
|
2018 |
LOLO'S ENTANGLEMENTS, DE WARANDE, Turnhout (BE) |
| 2017 | A Revolution A Day, C&H gallery, Amsterdam (NL) |
| 2017 | BOLERO an international art project on the move, Eos Gallery, Athens (GR) |
| 2017 | Par VoiX postale, Musée de la Photographie, Charleroi (BE) |
| 2017 | Dissolve into a red dwarf, ISLAND, Brussels (BE) |
| 2016 | BOLERO an international art project on the move - KIOSK, HALTE Collective, Geneva (CH) |
| 2016 | Belgische Wochen, Galerie Anne Voss, Dortmund (D) |
| 2015 | DUENDE, VM23, Arnhem, (NL) |
| 2015 | A Revolution A Day, 78 dagen, 78 kunstenaars, 78 revoluties in De Standaard, Beaufort buiten de grenzen / curated by Nico Dockx, (BE) |
| 2015 | (Re)View, cultuurcentrum Hasselt, (BE) |
| 2015 | BOLERO an international art project on the move - Torun, Baskent University, Ankara (TUR) / Ponta D’ Praia Gallery, Mindelo (CV) |
| 2015 | Multiples et éditions limitées – Enlarge Your Art, Brussels (BE) |
| 2014 | A poem a day – curated/edited by Bruno Devos, Nico Dockx & Clara Meister, MuZEE, Oostende (BE) |
| 2014 | SECONDroom@TRAFFIC, SPOOR 9 / An ideal for living – Central Station Antwerp (BE) |
| 2014 | Phantom Reality Reset – TETEM, Enschede (NL) |
| 2014 | Abécédaire du surréalisme - Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris (FR) |
| 2014 | Du vinaigre à l’enclume - The Corner Gallery, Brussels (BE)) 2014 |
| 2013 | <ART ATTACK> - arteVentuno archives, Hasselt (BE) 2013 |
| 2013 | LXXV a tribute to Wout Vercammen – arteVentuno archives, Hasselt (BE) |
| 2012 | à mon avis II, Spazio 117, Palermo, (IT) 2012 |
| 2012 | Un abécédaire pour la Louvière - Le surréalisme dans les collections de la Province de Hainaut, Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image imprimée, La Louvière (BE) |
| 2012 | BOLERO an international art project on the move - Gallery Rivelli 798, Beijing (CN), (work has been censored and removed from the exhibition). BOLERO, part of Manifesta 9 Parallel Events, TVL café / library, Genk (BE) |
| 2012 | Ik wens / I wish, Stichting IK, Oost-Souburg (NL) |
| 2011 | Anonymously Yours, Maison Gregoire, Brussels (BE) |
| 2011 | BOLERO an international art project on the move, 1Shanthiroad studio/gallery, Bangalore, (IN) |
| 2010 | 100 Visual artists @ Verbeke Foundation, Kemzeke (BE) |
| 2010 | Nuit Blanche, Beursschouwburg, Brussels (BE) |
| 2010 | (In)dépendence chacha, Atlas, Antwerp (BE) |
| 2010 | BOLERO an international art project on the move - Laphto Complex, Old Airport, Addis Abeba (ETH), Alliance Française, Dar es Salaam (TZA), Karoo Gallery, Prince Albert (ZAF), Ho Chi Minh City (VIE) |
| 2010 | XXI – into dAdA, ArteVentuno, Hasselt (BE) |
| 2010 | Wunderkammer, MDA (Media & Design academy), C-mine, Genk (BE) |
| 2010 | Let’s stick together, Design Vlaanderen, Brussels (BE), Cumhuriyet Müzesi Galerisi, Republic Museum, Istanbul (TUR) |
| 2009 | White Boxes, exhibition project, arteVentuno, Genk (BE) |
| 2009 | Donkey Brassband & 100 visual artists, Otillia Pribilla Gallery, Antwerp (BE) |
| 2009 | North, East, South, video installation, Live recording, Prima Donkey, De Molens van Orshoven, Leuven (BE) |
| 2009 | The Art and Collections II Verbeke Foundation on Display, Stichting Np3, Groningen (NL) |
| 2008 | Ware Liefde, De Markten, Brussels (BE) |
| 2008 | Van Provo tot nu, kunst in een sociaal politieke context, CC De Werf , Aalst (BE) |
| 2008 | Carte Blanche, Projection ‘Ahasverus’ – Prima Donkey, Ancienne Belgique, Brussels (BE) 2008/11/22 |
| 2008 | The Time Up Series – Prima Donkey, video installation ‘Mortificatio’, De Molens van Orshoven, Leuven (BE) 2008/06/25 |
| 2007 | Le temps d’une tour, Koma gallery, Mons (BE) |
| 2007 | Another Publication, Casco, Utrecht (NL) |
| 2007 | Vth Novosibirsk International Biennial of Contemporary Graphic Art, State Art Museum, Novosibirsk (RU) |
| 2007 | Does it help?, Cultural Centre, Kunstencentrum Signe, Heerlen (NL) |
| 2007 | Twenty one once again , arteVentuno, Hasselt (BE) |
| 2007 | Fill ’er Up, Dennis Anderson Gallery, Antwerp (BE) 2007 |
| 2006 | House in transition – ‘Garderobe’, Stedelijk Museum Ypenburg, The Hague (NL) 2006-2007 |
| 2006 | Vestis vanitatis, Belgium’s calling, Lineart, Ghent (BE), France Lejeune Fine Art |
| 2006 | Al caro Giorgio Gaber, Circolo Artistico Politecnico, Napels (I), Palazzo della Ragione, Milaan (IT) |
| 2005 | Artistes Belges, Arts Centre of Shawinigan, Québec (CA) |
| 2005 | Mes amis les animaux, France Lejeune Fine Art, Antwerp (BE) |
| 2005 | Scents:Locks:Kisses Arts Centre Z33, Hasselt (BE) |
| 2004 | Vanitas, Eitelkeit van de IJdelheden, IKOB Arts Centre, Internationales Kunstzentrum Ostbelgien, Eupen (BE) |
| 2003 | ± O, Les Contemporains Gallery, Brussels (BE) 2003 |
| 2003 | Vanités contemporaines, Museum of Fine Arts Roger-Quilliot, Clermont-Ferrand (FR) |
| 2003 | Vanitas, De Markten Cultural Centre, Brussels (BE) |
| 2001 | ‘tBeest, De Buiting Cultural Centre, Paal (BE) |
| 2000 | Manumissio, Les Contemporains Gallery, Brussels (BE) |
| 2000 | Crossing Borders, new art from the U.S. and Europe, Bowman & Penelec Galleries, Meadville, Pennsyl vania (US) |
| 2000 | OEuvre graphiques d’artistes contemporains, Espace des Arts, Gordes (FR) |
| 2000 | Réparations, Centre en Art Actuel, Lelieu, Québec (CA) |
| 2000 | Autour de Frans Masereel, Museum of Fine Arts, Le Locle (CH) |
| 2000 | Frans Masereel y la Estampa Contemporánea en Flandes, Palacio Revillagigedo, Gijón, Asturias (ES) |
| 2000 | Musée en oeuvre(s), Bâtiment Solvay, Charleroi (BE) |
| 2000 | Dada-Surréalisme-Avant Grades, un siècle de collage en Belgique, Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris (F) |
| 1999 | H2O, International Mail Art Exhibition, Guttorm Nordø, Oslo (NO) |
| 1999 | FaXimille-Date and Time, Exhibition Hall for Contemporary Art, Budapest (HU) |
| 1999 | Ils vivent à la colle, Villa Pelsser, Henri-Chapelle (BE) 1999 |
| 1998 | Hommage à Rops (Cent graveurs pour un centenaire), Félicien Rops Museum, Namen (BE) |
| 1998 | Un siècle de collage en Belgique, Centre de la Gravure et de l’Image Imprimée, La Louvière (BE) |
| 1998 | Belgická Grafika, Dvor Gallery, Bratislava (SI) |
| 1997 | 4th international Biennial of Graphic Art, Contemporary Art Gallery, Chamalières (FR) |
| 1997 | Graphic Art, Cultural Centre of the city Musashino, Musashino (JP) |
| 1997 | 22th international Biennial of Graphic Art, Museum of Modern Art, Ljubljana (SI) |
| 1997 | Biennial exhibition of prints, Museum of Fine Arts, Yamanashi (JP) |
| 1994 | IV–V International Art Triennial Majdanek, Majdanek State Museum, Lublin (PL) 1994, 1997 |
| 1985 | International Triennial of Art – Against War, Majdanek State Museum, Lublin (PL) 1985, 1988 |