Bio

Maen FLORIN
Visual Artist

° Kleine-Brogel (B) 1954
Lives and works in Schelderode near Ghent (B)

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 – Beaufort

2021 – Histrion

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

2008 Veerle Van Durme – Heads

2017 Stefan Hertmans – The Hunchback deep inside

2017 Marc Ruyters – On Looking Back in Silence