Picture this: Benoît van Innis

The Belgian artist Benoît van Innis became known in the 1990s for his drawings in which he portrays the poetry of life casually and humorously. His entire body of work is imbued with the same profound joy of life and a delightful perspective on the immediate surroundings.

In his paintings and projects in public spaces, he combines a highly linear and recognizable drawing style with a vibrant color palette. For his recent paintings, he uses everyday forms alongside abstract motifs – a piece of clothing, an olive tree, cacti, or interior elements – employing them in a playful interplay of colors, lines, and volumes. The objects he presents become autonomous forms that take on a life of their own: two ladders – a slapstick motif par excellence – seem oblivious to gravity and engage in a stiff dance, colorful circles and spirals merge, the sleeve of a shirt is vividly different from its counterpart, and so forth.

The work he created in situ at the MDD appears to aim for a trompe-l’oeil effect, but the perspective lines take on a life of their own, causing the walls and floors to seem to go in all directions. The lines are drawn without a ruler to avoid being confined to a strict framework, and lines that did not meet the criteria have been erased but remain somewhat visible. Here, Benoît plays a game with space and emptiness, doing so in his typical non-conformist manner.