“The Painter of Silence”
“The Painter of Silence”
In his works, Jean De Groote makes us reflect on the essence of things, on what it is to exist, to be. His simple subjects on sober backgrounds form a special kind of still life, in which the objects, devoid of any meaning or function, bathe in a profound silence and confine themselves to being. Thus, his paintings encourage contemplation of both the invisible and the visible. A serene and aesthetic art, but one that can immerse us in metaphysical questions at the limit of what our human brain can understand.
Vèronique de Limburg Stirum
“To be or not to be” I read on a cover of a book painted by Jean De Groote. “The thing and its shadow.”
We are face to face with the work of the painter of silence, with the oeuvre of the painter of THINGS, with works by the painter of simplicity, with paintings by an artist who does not need an alibi to paint. With the work of someone who paints what he himself cannot say…
After all, Jean De Groote’s work is undeniably also poetic. Texts, that is, usually sprouted in brains that steadily covet wisdom. In heads and brains doggedly seeking wisdom. Searching for truth. For a truth. These are texts that often make me turbulent, while De Groote’s work itself seems to me the ultimate aptitude. Didn’t someone once write about his work : “A rose is a rose is a rose”? And this applies to everything he paints. And, addicted to painting as he is, he has put an awful lot on canvas in all these years. From mattresses, to a lump of butter, to a walking hand, to a visit from Heidegger. Looking, seeing, feeling, fantasizing, eliminating, realizing…
Johan Debruyne, 11/2022
Bachelor of Higher art education
Bachelor of Orthopedagogy
Aggregate teacher training in art education
Art sciences – University, Gent
Separate course units: philosophy/philosophy of art
Under construction
Under construction
2022: Kunstpoort, ‘Painting without an alibi’ by Rik Corijn: Download PDF
2023: Sabato, ‘Les natures mortes de Jean De Groote à Bruges’ by Aurélie Koch: Download PDF
2023: The Art Couch Magazine, ‘It is, Jean De Groote in Adornes: Een unieke locatie waar het absolute zijn van dingen zich verzoent met van verhalend barstend erfgoed’ by Johan Debruyne: Download PDF
2023: Gallery Viewer, ‘Jean De Groote: Schilder van het grote in het kleine’ by Manuela Klerkx: Download PDF
2023: Adornesdomein, ‘Jean De Groote, It is’: Download PDF
