1984 Born in Kortrijk, Belgium
Lives and works in Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Kortrijk, Belgium
2024 Head of Ceramic department at Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam
Education
1996-2002 DAS art high school, Kortrijk
2001-2003 sculpture classes
2003-2004 KASK Gent 3D
2004-2006 KASK Gent Combined Media
2006-2007 KASK Gent New Media (Bachelor)
2008-2009 KASK Gent Media Art (Master)
2015-2016 research in arts & design, St-Lucas Antwerpen (Master After Master)
Jonas Vansteenkiste (b. 1984, Kortrijk, Belgium) is a multidisciplinary artist, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (KASK) in Ghent and St. Lucas in Antwerp. His practice spans architectural installations, where the boundaries of space dissolve into psychological intimacy. Through site-specific interventions, Vansteenkiste collaborates with space itself, surrendering to a process that relinquishes control. Architecture, with its inherent rules of intervention, becomes a vessel that listens, unraveling collective participation. His exploration of control and impermanence unfolds as a poetic reflection on loss, memory, and transience.
Vansteenkiste reconfigures the static nature of space into a dynamic site for transformation. This approach mirrors the cyclical nature of A Rose is a Rose is a Rose, where new layers of meaning are discovered, yet meaning itself remains an active potential. Vansteenkiste has completed residencies in Paris and Berlin and has exhibited internationally
The works of the artist Jonas Vansteenkiste are defined by spaces. He uses several media, i.e. installations, video, sculpture, photos and drawings. He refers and uses – both in a physical and psychological way – architectural elements.
He builds up spaces, or creates situations which can best be defined as “mental spaces”. Mental spaces have a resemblance with “Denkraum”, a notion mostly found in philosophy and architecture. “Denkraum” can be seen as building walls,
not only in but also from the chaos of one’s own perception,
emotions and thoughts to express in a clear way these experiences and feelings.
Jonas Vansteenkiste approaches curatorship with the same profound sensitivity and conceptual acuity that characterize his own artistic practice. As a curator, he creates spaces in which artworks do not merely coexist, but enter into dialogue with one another. His exhibitions are not static presentations, but carefully constructed narratives that invite reflection, discussion and meaning-making.
Central to Vansteenkiste’s vision is the relationship between space, object and context. His background as a visual artist gives him a unique perspective on how works of art influence space and are influenced by their surroundings. He sees exhibition spaces as metaphorical “houses” in which art is given the opportunity to tell its own story, while at the same time being embedded in a larger conceptual framework.
Vansteenkiste has a particular affinity for themes such as transformation, architecture and the tension between the personal and the universal. These themes are also evident in the exhibitions he curates. His curatorship aims to offer the visitor not only an aesthetic experience, but also an intellectual challenge. For him, art becomes a means of questioning both individual experiences and social structures.