Michael van den Abeele (b. 1974, Brussels, Belgium), lives in Brussels

Michael Van den Abeele is an artist and writer who works with a diverse practice. Recent and past presentations took place at KIN Brussels, Belgium; Fanta-MLN, Milan; The Wig, Berlin, Stadtgalerie Bern; FRAC Ile-de-Paris, France; MuHKA, Antwerp; gallery Gaudel de Stampa, Paris; la Maison de Rendez-Vous, Brussels; Etablissement d’en face, Brussels; CAC, Vilnius; Museum Leuven, and WIELS Brussels.

“Emancipating function from form is a recurring motif in Michael van den Abeele’s artistic practice. Often, he begins with a material so wedded to its economic value that their separation comes with tricky conditions. The flat iron is tired of working, the jeans take leave from the domain of work wear and turn to ornament. In a single motion, Van den Abeele unlatches the commodity from the throes of its market and ushers it into a new arena where eros, excess, and mythology prevail. Here, the possibility of a given thing renews itself in desire, decadence and a romance for discernible things.”
— Micaela Dixon