De Jonghe relates to his surroundings like a sculptor. His spatial interventions respond to the (exhibition) space: to imperfect architecture, to the so called neutrality of the white cube, or to the way people walk into a space. Each space has its own unique characteristics, and supporting or countering these qualities serve as a formal starting point. In his own words he favours the visual residue of a do-it-yourself spirituality. He loves tweaking existing elements in a room so that the space starts to contribute to the overall experience; for example bending tubelights so that they appear to sag.
This is also true of the works that have an origin in his studio, where “the mould” and the resulting negative is a classic sculptural principle De Jonghe often applies. He has a strong focus on the physical characteristics of his materials, stretching and moving them out of their usual form. Most of the works in ‘Long Story Short’ have come into existence by bending existing rough steel tubes or beams. Some of these have been combined with fragile natural components, such as the shells of snails or limpets. Others have received a coating of babypink paint. These unlikely marriages of materials poetically play with the idea of the ‘readymade’.
Bram De Jonghe (BE, 1985) graduated from Sint-Lucas in Ghent in 2009. He is based in The Hague, where he teaches sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art. Recent solo and duo exhibitions include ‘Wishbone’ at Kunsthal Ghent, ‘To take leave’ at DMW Gallery Antwerp, ‘Dehnung’ at Billytown The Hague, ‘A minor state of flux’ at Arti & Amicitiae Amsterdam, ‘En dat ook’ at 1646 The Hague, ‘Brushless Thoughts’ at Network Aalst, ’Grist to the mill’ at Stroom Den Haag. Recent group exhibitions include ‘Other.Worldly’ at Fries Museum Leeuwarden, ‘Een ongewone wandeling’ at GEM Museum of Contemporary Art The Hague, ‘Biennale van België III’ at Floraliënhal Ghent, ‘Dub Toasted Time’ at Gallery Martin Van Zomeren Amsterdam.
Work by De Jonghe is held in private and public collections, including the Fries Museum in Leeuwarden and the Ahold collection. In 2015 De Jonghe was recipient of the Volkskrant Visual Arts Prize. In 2022 he won the ‘Just a few seconds’ public commission from De Haagse Hogeschool to make a site-specific installation for their premises, less than 10 minutes’ walking distance from the gallery.