About Me
I was born in Belgium and I live in Mortsel, near Antwerp.
I first came into contact with felting in 2009, and it was as if I had been struck by lightning: this is it! The puzzle was complete.
In Germany I found a haven for my passion. Being far from home, in a different environment and speaking a different language, made me more self-contained and introspective, which proved to be beneficial to my creativity. German is the language in which my hands and my mind communicate with the wool.
In my mind, patterns, forms and images are vague and hazy. But my hands know exactly what they need to do. Through their dialogue with the wool fibres, a transformation takes place: into a sculpture, a wall-hanging.
My work isn’t about being innovative, or inventing new forms or techniques; it’s about refining and improving my mode of self-expression. The long process of layering, wetting, rolling, shrinking, shaping, etc., requires awareness, focus, and concentration. My hands release and express my thoughts and feelings. There is a little piece of my soul in every work of art they create.
My inspiration comes from music, poetry and nature, but also from life itself: sad events as well as happy ones. Traumas, pain or sorrow can be transformed into beauty. In everything bad, there is a little hidden good; it just takes a while to discover it. Felting helps me to heal and to grow, to find my place on earth.
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Professional highlights
It was love at first sight. In 2009 I first came into contact with felting and it sparked my current passion.
Professional felting education at the Wollknoll Filzschule in Oberot, Germany.
Attended several international felting masterclasses; including Gudrun Bartenberger-Geyer, Maria Friese and many others.
My first international exhibition. Featured in 3 countries curated by Beatriz Schaaf-Giesser.
The hand has the richest articulation of space.
Exhibition overview
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Fri03May2019Sun30Jun2019Gallery Nanda, Lokeren, Belgium
EXPO
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invitation
EXPO at Gallery Nanda. Ben Antrop and Vera Van de Casteele exhibit their work from 04/05/2019 till 02/06/2019.
BEELDENTUIN at Gallery Nanda till 30/06/2019 - Ben Antrop, Bram Eliaert and Jul Vuylsteke.
Drongenstraat 50, 9160 Lokeren - info@gallerynanda.com - +32 474052284
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Sat22Sep2018Sun30Sep2018Pastorie van Munte, Merelbeke, Belgium
Vlaanderen Vilt
Show moreAn exhibition that introduces you for the first time to the recent work of our Flemish felt artists.
Art, fashion, interior, ... be surprised by the inspiring creativity of traditional felting.
Felt can fascinate infinitely by the high quality material, the visual power and the many technical possibilities.
Experience it yourself, come enjoy, watch or dream away in the atmospheric space of the presbytery of the rural Munte.
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Sun06May2018Sun17Jun2018High Five Art Gallery, Baarle-Nassau, The Netherlands
Textieldialoog: binnen, buiten en daaraan voorbij
Show moreFor the exhibition curator and textile artist Beatriz Schaaf-Giesser selected work by the best European felt artists.
The exhibition was opened at the High Five Art Gallery at the beginning of May. This traveling exhibition was first shown at the Museo Historico Cabildo in Montevideo, Uruguay, where it attracted 27,000 visitors. The exhibition is now in Europe for the first time. The exhibition is dedicated to two- and three-dimensional felt art. 'The technique fascinates me,' says curator Beatriz Schaaf-Giesser, who is also textile artist, lecturer and co-founder of the felt school in the German Oberrot. 'As a felt artist, you do not work on a canvas - you create your own canvas.'
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Wed11Oct2017Wed28Feb2018Museo Historico Cabildo de Montevideo, Montevideo, Uruguay
Dialogos Textiles : por dentro, por fuera y mas alla
Show moreWith the curatorship of Beatriz Schaaf-Giesser, this exhibition shows a set of pieces created especially to be exhibited in the Historical Museum of the Cabildo of Montevideo.
German-speaking European artists, professionals and teachers, were invited to participate in this project. His work and artistic language, is based on the study of textile techniques with felt. The research of felt in itself and in conjunction with materials and procedures alien to it, has led to very personal and innovative artistic trajectories and expressions.
The works were made with Uruguayan virgin wool, in combination with wool from other continents and climatic zones; many have been worked and manipulated additionally with diverse fibers, silk, fabrics, diary paper, natural materials and metals.
The three-dimensional works with their complex and sophisticated forms, are an excellent sample of the knowledge of fibers and handling of techniques that these professionals possess. The flat works, of textures and very subtle colors, seem to speak tenderly of personal histories.
Participating artists: Gudrun Bartenberger-Geyer, Claudia Fischer, Corinne Keizer, Andrea Noeske-Porada, Christine Rummel, Lyda Rump, Beatriz Schaaf-Giesser, Kornelia Sswat-Mollwitz, Vera Van de Casteele, Margarete Warth, Esther Weber, Gabriele Wehrmeyer
