Contact

Leon Vranken
Maaseik, Belgium, 1975
Lives and works in Antwerp.

info@leonvranken.com


About

Radical in its simplicity and with great attention to material and finish, Leon Vranken’s oeuvre expresses both tension and serenity. He intertwines expectation with technical proficiency.
His diverse works - sculptures, installations, paintings or interventions - develop mainly in interaction with space. With remarkable sensitivity, he dissects and reorders artistic media, on the border between architecture, performance and visual art.
He prefers references to cultural or domestic practices, exploring how value is assigned to certain materials, often with an underlying critique of modern values and Western consumer culture. 

Vranken completed his studies at HISK in Ghent in 2007 and exhibited internationally in New York, Miami, London and Toronto, among others. His works are included in the collections of the Middelheim Museum (Antwerp), Museum Voorlinden (Netherlands), The Center for Contemporary Non-Objective Art (Brussels) and M HKA, Antwerp.



Education 2005 - 2007
Higher Institute for Fine Arts (HISK), Ghent, Belgium

2004 - 2005
Autonomous Visual Arts, Breda, Netherlands

2000 - 2004
MA In Situ, Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium

1995 - 1998
Landscape Architecture, Brussels, Belgium




Solo Exhibitions2025
Table manners
Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2023
Partly cloudy
Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2022
Solo project in the context of Art Brussels
Marion De Cannière & Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

2019
A salute to the wheel
Marion De Cannière Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2018
Solo project in the context of Fiac projects
curated by Marc-Olivier Wahler
Paris, France

2017
Great plans, random ideas
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

2016
Solo project in the context of Art Basel Miami
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Miami, USA

2015
( 13 ) 2 = 1
LLS 387, space for contemporary art
Antwerp, Belgium

2014
Paper, Scissors, Stone
Z33, space for contemporary art
Hasselt, Belgium

2013
A Cat’s Eye Perspective
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

2011
Don’t whistle ‘til you’re out of the wood
White Box Gallery
New York, USA

Solo project in the context of The Armory Show
Stella Lohaus Gallery
New York, USA

2010
The Beauty of Painting (Chapter I)
Concert hall Brugge
Bruges, Belgium 

2009
The Travelling Riddle
Stella Lohaus Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2007
The Garden with the Two-forked Paths
Diaz Contemporary Gallery
Toronto, Canada

Verger Barré
Maes en Matthys Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium



Public Commissions2026
iron & stone (upcoming)
site-specific work in public space
Harbour of Recklinghausen, Germany

2024
Common ground
site-specific work in public space
Hof van de Deken, Bree, Belgium

2023
Untitled
indoor art integration
Healthcare campus, Ekeren, Belgium

2018
Fluid axis
interactive installation in public space
Knokke-Heist, Belgium

2017
Untitled
site-specific outdoor mosaic
Care home, Ostend, Belgium

2013
Study of a vertical line
interactive installation in a sculpture park
Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, Belgium

2013
Raised elevation
site-specific sculpture in public space
Antwerp, Belgium

2011
Common pedestal
interactive sculpture in public space
Kooigemplein, Kortrijk, Belgium



Group Exhibitions2025
KIP (Kunst in Puurs), curated by Wilfried Coremans
Puurs, Belgium

Words are very unnecessary
Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2024
It’s all right, don’t think twice
Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2022
Verbinding (verbroken)
Triënnale voor hedendaagse kunst
Duffel, Belgium

De wereld van Sofie
Ron Mandos Gallery
Amsterdam, Netherlands

2021
Bend, stretch, relax
Sofie Van de Velde Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2018
The Unending Gift
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

Holes, Bumps, Discs and Knots
Art Partout Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

Beaufort Triënnale
, curated by Heidi Ballet
Knokke-Heist, Belgium

The Gathering
Panthera Today
Brussels, Belgium

2017
RE-art II
Brussels, Belgium

group presentation in the context of Art Düsseldorf
Meessen De Clercq Gallery 
Düsseldorf, Germany

2016
Artist project in the context of Art Brussels
Brussels, Belgium

group presentation in the context of Miart
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Milan, Italy

2015
Anthropocene
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

No Walls, Fenix hall
Rotterdam, Netherlands

group presentation in the context of Art Geneva
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Geneva, Switzerland

2014
Homo Ludens
Meessen De Clercq Gallery
Brussels, Belgium

Encounters at the Boundary
CC Puurs
Puurs, Belgium

Van de sokkel
Hof De Bist
Ekeren, Belgium

Fata Morgana
IKOB
Eupen, Belgium

2013
Happy Birthday dear Academie, curated by HELD
public space
Antwerp, Belgium 

My little Paradise
Middelheim Museum
Antwerp, Belgium

Up close and personal
CC Mechelen
Mechelen, Belgium

2012
Nachtfahrt
Bonnefantenmuseum 
Maastricht, Netherlands

Le Salon
Brussels, Belgium

2011
Freestate O.
Ostend, Belgium

Change of Address
Tatjana Pieters / One Twenty
Ghent, Belgium 

Poisson d’avril
Vous etes ici
Amsterdam, Netherlands

Voorkamer
Les Brasseurs Art Contemporain
Liège, Belgium

Accrochage
Stella Lohaus Gallery
Antwerp, Belgium

2010
Zweierlei
Ausstellungsraum Klingental
Basel, Switzerland

Artist project in the context of Art Brussels
Brussels, Belgium

En présence, curated by Bettina Klein
CEAAC
Strasbourg, France

Changez! Een Belgenshow
21Rozendaal
Enschede, Netherlands

2009
Beyond these walls
South London Gallery
London, UK

Young Belgian Art Prize
Bozar
Brussels, Belgium

Exhibition in a matchbox
public space
Antwerp, Belgium

2008
Prix Ariane de Rothschild
Tour & Taxis
Brussels, Belgium

Honorons Honoré
De Garage, ruimte voor actuele kunst
Mechelen, Belgium

2007
Just a four-letter word
Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens
Deurle, Belgium

SLOW
Z33, space for contemporary art
Hasselt, Belgium

Nieuwe Collectie
Museum Wuyts-Van Campen
Lier, Belgium

Vanaf NU!...,
LLS 387
Anwerp, Belgium

Small Stuff Three
Herman Teirlinkchuis
Beersel, Belgium

The Moss Gathering Tumbleweed Experience
Klerkx Gallery
Milano, Italy

My eyes keep me in trouble
Nieuwe Vide
Haarlem, Netherlands

The Moss Gathering Tumbleweed Experience
NICC
Antwerp, Belgium

2006
Academy, douze points
M HKA
Antwerp, Belgium

First things first
CCNOA
Brussels, Belgium

LeereXvision
MARTA
Herford, Germany

Jour Fixe
Factor 44
Antwerp, Belgium

A Perfect Presence
public space
Antwerp, Belgium

Decade
Urban Espresso Bar
Rotterdam, Netherlands

2005
Home at Tent
Witte de With
Rotterdam, Netherlands

Unheimlich
De Warande
Turnhout, Belgium

Filter
De Fabriek
Eindhoven, Netherlands

Invincible Desire
Diamonds on Archer
Chicago, USA



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