Jacqueline Mesmaeker was born in 1929 in Brussels and passed away there in December 2023.
After working in the fields of fashion, architecture and design for two decades, Mesmaeker redirected her practice towards visual arts at the beginning of the 1970s. Nourished by her experiments in the applied arts and by the conceptual aesthetics of the time, she experimented with a large variety of mediums such as drawing, film, photography, installation, and artist’s books, which she constantly combined in humorous, poetical ways.
Her work is both highly personal and enlightening, elusive and generous. True to one of her mottos, “J’ai vu que tu n’as pas vu” [I noticed that you didn’t notice], the artist draws our attention to unnoticed phenomena and forgotten masterpieces. She shares tiny discoveries and memories, conveying the wonders of the everyday and of the past.
Having remained little-known for a long time, Jacqueline Mesmaeker is now — at last — considered one of the most significant Belgian artists of the past fifty years.
Her recent solo shows include De page en page, Raveel Museum, Machelen-aan-de-leie, Belgium, 2021; Ah, quelle aventure!, BOZAR, Brussels, Belgium, 2020; Jacqueline Mesmaeker, Viennacontemporary, Vienna, Austria, 2019; Jacqueline Mesmaeker, Galerie Bernard Bouche, Paris, France, 2019; 21 mars 1975, 17h23, M HKA, Antwerp, Belgium, 2018.
Jacqueline Mesmaeker is represented by Nadja Vilenne Gallery.
