Stephanie Gildemyn is an artist who has been exploring myths, art history and contemporary art through her drawings, etchings, photographs and paintings for the last 15 years.
Stephanie Gildemyn is an artist who has been exploring myths, art history and contemporary art through her drawings, etchings, photographs and paintings for the last 15 years.
She has been cultivating a body of work with paint and canvas that started as drawings and gouaches. Her creative process involves printing these artworks before transforming them into her signature painted canvases. Through her referencing of mythological perspectives, she taps into the primal and innate quality that is inherent in mythology. “Entranced by the unknown, I process and divert the conventional visual language of history to my own vision, inevitably creating a modern context.”
All her pieces are united by a common thread: her exploration of society and its many complex identities. She looks at contemporary issues and tries to make sense of them through the lens of mythology. In her practice, she narrows the gap between mythology, art history and modern society. She is particularly interested in how these three fields can inform one another.
Through her artwork, Gildemyn is able to get closer to understanding the world around her. She often finds herself asking questions about art history and contemporary art. And she isn’t afraid to tackle the big topics head on.
About her Sisyphus Paintings
Gildemyn has been working on an art series called Sisyphus since 2019. She started the series with smaller pieces and drawings, but the final output will be 12 large paintings on canvas. The 12 paintings in the series are each as large as a door.
Sisyphus today is relevant to anyone who feels stuck in a never-ending cycle of work with no tangible results. As Albert Camus wrote, “The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a man’s heart. One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” Gildemyn’s series captures this feeling of hope and resilience in the face of seemingly endless adversity.
All of her landscapes are chosen deliberately and with care, down to the smallest detail. This is also evident in her newest series of paintings.
Stephanie Gildemyn & Hilde Vancanneyt
Stephanie Gildemyn is a painter with a studio in the city of Gent, Belgium.
For the past several years, she has been exploring mythology to construct a distinct perspective on our contemporary life.
She has been cultivating a body of work with paint and canvas that started as drawings and gouaches. Her creative process involves printing these artworks before transforming them into her signature painted canvases.
As Gildemyn’s series progresses, she displays it publicly; then revisiting and further developing the piece by adding new portions. Since 2019, she has been fixated on the story of Sisyphus and also exploring her Spanish Garden series from 2018. When taking a break from the Spanish Garden project, she always goes back to her Sisyphus-inspired creations. The prior year, she devoted extended periods of time to two mythical creatures: Nymph and Satyr. These three themes continually resurfaced and reproduced further ideas; the topics share an interrelated thread.
Through her referencing of mythological perspectives, she taps into the primal and innate quality that is inherent in mythology. “Entranced by the unknown, I process and divert the conventional visual language of history to my own vision, inevitably creating a modern context.”
Our thoughts and feelings are ever-evolving, making it near impossible to encapsulate them into a single piece of work. We observe history and our collective cultural heritage from present-day lenses, providing us with an entirely new outlook on the past. She created her series so that she could process all the information efficiently.
Leveraging her artistic abilities and creative ideas, she sketches and designs thematic works. She then uses her unique technique of image processing to refine each piece into a stunning work of art. She skillfully melds digital and analog methods, editing, scaling and framing her pieces. Her creative process blurs the line between what is real versus imagined; familiar against foreign; creating an atmosphere of alienation in each work.
She crafts her work with story, emotion and tension as its foundations.
Studies
2002: Master Audiovisual and Visual Arts, Graphics – School of Science and Art, Sint-Lucas, Gent
2000: Bachelor Audiovisual and Visual Arts, Graphics – School of Science and Art, Sint-Lucas, Gent
1998: General youth Education Modern Language-Mathematics – Sint-Bavo Humaniora, Gent
1998: Art youth Degree Art Orientation – Sint-Lucas Academy, Gent
2003-2004: Cultural Sciences – Open University, Gent
Assignments
2013-2014: Art Integration – Daycare Center Het Vlot, Knokke-Heist
2015-2017: Art Integration – Private residence in Collaboration with Emaillerie Belge, Brussel
Workshops
2014: Artistic summer camp children – Ourobouros bvba, Zwalm
2016: Workshop painting – Kunstze!, Anzegem
2018: Workshop painting – Festival van Vlaanderen, Gent
2020: Artist in residency, Arteventura (ES)
2018: Artist in residency, Arteventura (ES)
2002-2008: Multiple residencies, Frans Masereelcentrum, Kasterlee
2018
Soirée #3 pop-up expo – Krommenaas, Gent
Noli mi tangere #ittakestwototango expo – BLANCO, Gent
2017
Final, public preview art piece – Emaillerie Belge, Brussel
2016
Public private preview – BLANCO, Gent
2015
Patronime expo – DOK, Gent
2023
Rhapsody – Tale Art Gallery, Vlierzele
2022
Een Wereld op Papier – Galerie Lloyd, Oostende
Open Studios – Lindenlei, Gent
Open Ateliers #15, Ghent
2021
Lindenlei Open Studios, Gent
De Gewisselde Gedachten II – Zebrastraat, Gent
De Gewisselde Gedachten II – Ensemble, Gent
De Gewisselde Gedachten I – Blinkout, Gent
Summersalon 2020 – Kunsthal, Gent
Seven pieces of my Sisyphus Series – ArtGhent@SMAK, SMAK, Gent
Winterreise – PostX, Merelbeke
Atelier in Beeld – Gent
Art Ghent pop-up – Ben Benaouisse, Gent
2020
Zomersalon 2020 – Kunsthal, Ghent
Open Ateliers #12, online edition – Nucleo vzw, Gent
Open Studios #2 – Lindenlei, Gent
2019
Underground VII – Sint-Denijs-Westrem
Vitrines d’Amour – Gent
CMYK – Blanco, Gent
Open Studios #1 – Lindenlei, Gent
Why do we need vases, dear? – CaS Contemporary art Space, Zottegem
Spelen met Flora – PostX, Merelbeke
2018
Open Ateliers #12 – Nucleo vzw, Gent
2017
Gestalt – PAK (Platform voor Actuele Kunsten), Gistel
2016
Open Ateliers #11 – Nucleo vzw, Gent
2014
Open Ateliers #10 – Nucleo vzw, Gent
2005
Concours/wedstrijd Godecharle – Académie Royal des Beaux Arts, Brussel
Planet Gender selected by Tra Mundi vzw – Galerij Jan Colle, Gent
Letterlijk. Figuurlijk., selected by Jean-Paul van der Poorten, publishing of catalogus – Stedelijk Museum, Aalst
2004
Leopold, selected by Dany Deprez, publishing of catalogus – Leopold Barracks, Gent
Open Ateliers #3 – Nucleo vzw, Gent
Hortus Fabricus, Gent
2003
Open Keukens – KunstLAB vzw, Gent
Jeunes graveurs flamands, organized by De Markten – Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts, Luik
Elle/Zij – Belgisch-Roemeens huis Arthis, Brussel
2002
Local Dispersal – Berwick Research Institute, Boston (US)
Out of Control – Free University, Brussel
Landscaping project I & II, a collaboration with American artists
2001
Anatomalie, Kamer XII –School of Science and Art, Sint-Lucas, Gent
2022: Sisyphus, an Art Series by Stephanie Gildemyn, text by Hilde Van Canneyt
2020: Start To Collect website, article about Stephanie Gildemyn, text by Daan Rau
2020: OKV Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, interview by Daan Rau
2019: The Art Couch Magazine, interview by Frederic De Meyer
2018: Catalog events, Gent Matinees – Design Museum, Gent
2014: De Morgen, article about studios Nucleo vzw ‘Mijn Pop-up atelier’, by Elise Sercu
2005: Catalog Letterlijk. Figuurlijk. – Stedelijk Museum, Aalst
2004: Catalog Leopold – Leopold Barracks, Gent
2022: Sisyphus, ‘About the Sisyphus Series’ by Hilde Van Canneyt: Download PDF
2020: OKV Openbaar Kunstbezit Vlaanderen, ‘Stephanie Gildemyn, omgekeerd denken’ by Daan Rau: Download PDF
2020: Start To Collect, ‘Stephanie Gildemyn en Sisyphus’ by Daan Rau: Visit website
2019: The Art Couch Magazine, ‘Stephanie Gildemyn, de mythe van Sisyphus herbekeken’ by Frederic De Meyer: Download PDF
