Maen FLORIN
Visual Artist
Maen Florin studied sculpture at the Royal Academy of Arts in Antwerp, at St Luke Institute of Art and The Royal Academy of Art in Ghent.
Work
The images of Maen Florin make the impalpable visible. She converts what is invisible and which lies deep inside us into palpable and recognizable matter. You can feel her images, literally and figuratively. They are alienating and they invite the viewer to locate them in an imaginary narrative.
Whereas Maen Florin initially translated the inner world of her figures into expressive and colourful forms, her exuberant sculptures now make way for more tranquil images. It is as if they are presences turned inwards. They seem to belong to the tradition of the ‘Unheimliche’ and they emerge as witnesses to what is present, while remaining hidden.
In recent years Maen Florin has made increasing numbers of heads in ceramics that are larger than life; they are immediately given shape in clay and painted with a glaze. The heads are not portraits; rather they resemble archetypes. They remind one of art history and they interrogate both the viewers and the world in which they live.
As an artist, Maen Florin draws great inspiration from the creative process by which intuition, chance and materials influence each other.
Texts
2022 Johan September – Out of Paradise
2022 Emmanuelle Indekeu – Fundamental Occurences
2021 Jozefien Van Beek – The puppet master in Maen Florin
2020 Sigrid Bosmans and Hannah Itterbeke – The Present-Absent Gaze in the sculptures of Maen Florin
2020 Koen Leemans – Playing at being Human
2018 Hans Martens – Paradox and ambiguity
2018 Erno Vroonen – Some thoughts about Maen Florin’s exhibition, Illusion