Bert Mertens
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Bert Mertens | |
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| Born | 19 December 1955 Leuven (Belgium) |
| Alma mater | KULeuven (Faculty of Law) |
| Known for | Painter |
| Style | Contemporary realism |
| Awards | Jos Albert Prize |
| Website | https://www.bertmertens.com/ |
Bert Mertens, born in Leuven on 19 December 1955, is a Belgian contemporary realist figurative painter.
Bert Mertens is, as novelist and columnist Yannick Haenel notes it, "the complete opposite of artists who are programmed by their training".[1] His first vocation was architecture, yet his family steered him towards law. After a serious accident, he switched to the medical sector. After holding positions in operating theatres, intensive care and burns units, he worked for different multinationals in the Benelux as a sales representative and trainer of young doctors in laparoscopic techniques.[2]
In the summer of 2018 Mertens begins exploring oil painting. This proved so conclusive that he decides to become a full-time practitioner.[3]
Artistic approach
Bert Mertens is a figurative painter of contemporary realism. He however distances himself from hyperrealism. As noted by critic Michel Ducobu, "while his oil paintings are strikingly true to life, sometimes photographic, they exude a very personal style".[4] Jean Jauniaux concurs when discerning "falsely objective look at reality, everyday life, the surroundings of things and the world. In each of his paintings, there [seems to be] an interpretation of the immediate and its complexity".[5] For curator Grigori Michel, his work can be considered "part of the contemporary neo-figurative movement".[6]
What Mertens chooses to show is nothing exceptional; on the contrary, as Yannick Haenel has observed, his painting "seizes upon neglected places to give them a political existence".[7] This stems, according to the academic Myriam Watthee-Delmotte, "from the sensory density he conveys through his meticulous rendering of textures and rhythms: in each painting, through the framing, the interplay of lines and masses, there is a beat, a striking pulsation that is linked to the fact that the artist paints in a free jazz musical atmosphere. It is a kind of realism that detaches himself from the spectacular [in order to] observe, question, interpret and admire the beauty of lived experience".[8]
Distinctions
- In November 2024, Bert Mertens was awarded the Jos Albert Prize from the Royal Academy of Science, Letters and Fine Arts of Belgium.[9]
- In 2025 he is made a member of the Cercle Royal Gaulois artistique et littéraire.
Exhibitions
- Bert Mertens. Les lieux nous parlent, Galerie Simoncini, Luxembourg, 2026.
- Bert Mertens. Figurer/transfigurer la ville, Maison de la Francité, Brussels, 2026.
- Exhibition on the occasion of the Jos Albert Prize award ceremony in the artist's Studio-gallery, curated by Charlotte Caroux, with the participation of Myriam Watthee-Delmotte (speech "Le réalisme, une liberté"[8]) and Françoise Roberts-Jones, 2024.
- Spring exhibition in the artist's Studio-gallery, curated by Charlotte Caroux, with participation of Pascale Tison (reads "De quoi l’imagination d’un peintre peut-elle nous sauver?"[10]) and Jean-Paul Dessy (cello), 2024.
- Bert Mertens. Par la force du réel, Galerie Talmart (Paris), curated by Grigori Michel, with the support of the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris, 2023.
- Bert Mertens, Galerie Simoncini (Luxembourg), 2023.
- Raconter la nuit, around François Emmanuel, Atelier Les Voix en Ville, Brussels, 2022.
- Exhibition to mark the opening of the new Studio-gallery (Brussels), 2022.
Collective exhibitions
- From 2019 to 2025, he participated annually in "We-art-XL". He is named "Coup de coeur" of the collective exhibition in Demeuldre (Ixelles) in 2021 with "Bruno's Garage", oil on canvas, 120 x 150 x 4 cm.
- In 2023, his work is exhibited as a finalist of the Prix des Arts of Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, WHALL.
Remarkable orders
- Two of his paintings are displayed in the private quarters of the Belgium's sovereigns, King Philip and Queen Mathilde, at the Royal Palace. The portrait of the four royal children has belonged to Queen Mathilde since 2021. In 2023, Mertens was commissioned the official State Portrait of King Philippe, as presented by the Ministry of Defence to mark the tenth anniversary of his reign, for display in the sovereign's office.
- In 2024, coachbuilder Bertone commissioned a canvas for the limited-edition Bertone GB110 luxury car to be exhibited at "Top Marques" Monaco (Grimaldi Forum) during the launch of this exceptional vehicle.[11]
Publications
- Ducobu, Michel (2019). "Rencontre avec Bert Mertens", Reflets (62): 66-69.
- Jauniaux, Jean (2022-09-28). "Bert Mertens, peindre la poésie du réel", L'Ivresse des livres.
- Bert Mertens. A Thing of Beauty (monography). Texts of Ralph Dekoninck, Marc Dugardin, Pierre-Yves Soucy, Martine Vande Peene, Myriam Watthee-Delmotte (2022).
- Michel, Grigori (2023). Par la force du réel. Bert Mertens, Dossier Bert Mertens on the occasion of the exhibition at the Talmart Gallery, Paris.
- Haenel, Yannick (2023). Le réel est un abîme. À propos des peintures de Bert Mertens, text of Yannick Haenel, Dossier Bert Mertens on the occasion of the exhibition at the Talmart Gallery, Paris.
- Haenel, Yannick (2023-05-24). "L'art vertigineux de Bert Mertens", Charlie Hebdo (1609): 12.
- Watthee-Delmotte, Myriam (2024). De quoi l'imagination d'un peintre peut-elle nous sauver?, text for the opening of the Spring exhibition.
- Watthee-Delmotte, Myriam (2024-11-14). Le réalisme, une liberté, text for the exhibition opening on the occasion of the Jos Albert Prize Award ceremony.
References
- ↑ Haenel, Yannick (2023-05-24). "L'art vertigineux de Bert Mertens [translation: Deepl]". Charlie Hebdo: 12.
- ↑ Mertens, Bert. "Biography". Bert Mertens. Retrieved 2025-12-29.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Haenel, Yannick (2023). "Le réel est un abîme. À propos des peintures de Bert Mertens [translation: Deepl]". Talmart.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Ducobu, Michel (2019). "Rencontre avec Bert Mertens [translation: Deepl]". Reflets (62): 66.
- ↑ Jauniaux, Jean (2022-09-28). "Bert Mertens, peindre la poésie du réel". L'Ivresse des livres.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Michel, Grigori (2023). "Par la force du réel: Bert Mertens [translation: Deepl]". Talmart.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Haenel, Yannick (2023-05-24). "L'art vertigineux de Bert Mertens [translation: Deepl]". Charlie Hebdo (1609): 12.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Watthee-Delmotte, Myriam (2024-12-01). "Le réalisme, une liberté [translation: Deepl]". Bert Mertens.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Classe des Arts: lauréats des prix décernés en 2024". Académie royale de Belgique. 2024-11-19.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Watthee-Delmotte, Myriam (2024-03-21). "What can a painter's imagination save us from?". Bert Mertens.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "La Bertone GB110 présentée à Top Marques Monaco". L'automobile sportive. 2024-06-20.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
External links
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