BartRamakers

Très Rouge – now a twin expo!

Bart — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:10:13 +0000

Dear friends, if you want to enjoy spring in Leuven, the historical city, the terraces, the good food, the student company, there is one more exciting evolution: apart from the exhibition in the “Rood Huys”, Parijsstraat 62, that I mentioned before, there is an exhibition of my work in restaurant “Tres”, Muntstraat 20. So you can enjoy my recent work (more than 35 pictures, and the most recent one is only two weeks old indeed) in two locations! Combining the two requires some clever thinking about timing, because the opening hours are different:

‘t Rood Huys: tuesday-saturday from 10:00-18:00.

Tres: monday-saturday from 12:00-14:30 and 18:00-22:00, except wednesday at noon.

Hope to see you there… and who knows, maybe I make a picture of you in the “Rood Huys” on Sunday 28th of April, Wednesday 1st of May or Sunday 5th of May!

L’homme

Bart — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 09:58:01 +0000

Tuesday 16th of April Galerie Emilie Dujat welcomed more than 10 artists and their numerous friends at the opening of group exhibition “L’homme”, a quest for the identity of man in all kinds of artistic media. You can still visit this fascinating exposition untill June 30th, in the Ernest Allardstraat 20 in Brussels, near the Sablon, on Thursday-Saturday from 11:00-18:00 and on Sunday from 11:00-16:00.

In this picture (by Alain Poncelet) meet Freddy Segers.

Upcoming events

Bart — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 13:11:32 +0000

In recent months I have greatly enjoyed your attention and appreciation. I received more than 1000 visitors at St. Michael’s Church in Leuven during the Trinities exhibition (October) and more than 500 during Kunstkaai in Diest (December). Heartening was that one new trinities-photoshoot was sold for 1500 euros at the art auction for Bond Zonder Naam in the Open University of Diversity (Koen Vanmechelen), and that 12 people bought a picture from the “Abyssinia”-series for the benefit of Harya, a young Ethiopian woman.

Here is a glimpse into the agenda for the next months!

“THE FALL”: book presentation by Ivo Konings, Friday, March 29 at 19h at the Gouverneurshuis, Lombaardstraat 25 in Hasselt. It was a fun to portray Ivo and an anonymous (naked) lady for the cover of the book, and I’m happy with the result!
www.ivokonings.be (please confirm your attendance via the contact form on the site)

“L’HOMME”: group exhibition at Galerie Emilie Dujat, Ernest Allardstreet 20 in Brussels (Sablon) from 18 April to 30 June. One of my works will be shown next to the paintings, photographs and objects from artists Alexander Adams, Renaud Allirand, Pasquale Bonfilio, Luis Caballero, Stephanie Chardon, Gregory Cheneau, Christopher Coppers, Salvador Dali, Frederic Fontenoy, Frederic Jumelle, Céline Leroy, Bruce of Los Angeles, Frédérique Lucien, Michael James O’Brien, Jean-Marc de Pelsemaeker, Joel Person, Pick Tegan, Nathalie Pirotte, Victor Sanchez.
This exhibition revolves around “the man”: his identity, his power, his charm and his sensitivity.
Vernissage 18 April from 18h to 21h, be welcome!

“‘T ROOD HUYS invites: Bart Ramakers”: exhibition in’ t Rood Huys, Parijsstraat 62 Leuven, during Kunstroute 2013 (Sunday 28 April, Wednesday May 1, Sunday May 5) and then to 29 June. During Kunstroute I will be present and you can participate in one of the photo shoots I’ll do on the spot!
www.troodhuys.be

Want to stay tuned about my events? Send me your mail address and you’ll receive updates: bart@bartramakers.com.

Abyssinia: Mind the Gap!

Bart — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 10:27:21 +0000

To travel to Ethiopia means to travel back in time. Without you noticing it and while flying only across a few time zones, your comfortable flight to Addis Ababa takes you in a seven year time warp to a country that still follows the calender of Julius Caesar. New year 2005 started on our September 11th 2012, and Christmas is on January 7th. To make it a bit more confusing, Ethiopians start calculating the hours at sunrise, so noon is 6 o’clock and 6 o’clock in the evening is 12 o’clock. Mind the gap!

This time warp is not the only reality distortion you’ll experience in Ethiopia, or Abyssinia as I prefer to call it because of the numerous mind gaps. Discover how in this fascinating country, reality is profoundly interwoven with history, religion and mythology. Visit my photo reportage for “Ondernemers voor Ondernemers”, an organisation that collects corporate gifts in order to stimulate entrepreneurship in the South.

A selection of these images will be exposed from February 20th to March 15th @ there, Groenveldstraat 13, Heverlee. The opening of the exposition is on February 20th at 18:30, on the occasion of the book presentation of Jan Flamend: “Waar waren wij gebleven”. Take care, this trip might change your way of looking at the world around you!

New exposition: From Purgatory

Bart — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:09:29 +0000

In December 2012, the city of Diest shimmers in an artistic light. This historical gem in the Hageland, once controlled by the house of Nassau, organises artistic exhibitions, a light art parcours and much more. Always keen to show his work in an historical environment, Bart Ramakers exhibits a small but splendid selection of recent work in a derelict pub on the Grote Markt, opposite to the gothic Saint-Sulpitiuschurch. Bart shows scenes from Purgatory: passion and brutality, jealousy and betrayal, melancholy and triumph, love and hate, peace and war. Each picture is a sumptuous tableau, now printed in really big dimensions for the pleasure of your eyes. During the same period, you can visit in Diest the work of 11 other artists, and in the weekend of 15-16 december you can enjoy the Light Art Parcours from 17 hrs on.

Uit het Vagevuur, Grote Markt 9, Diest, 4-14 december from 14-18 hrs, 15-16 december from 14-22 hrs.

In collaboration with Kunstkaai Diest and Sacred Places.

www.kunstkaaidiest.be

Trinities – Confrontational and therapeutic double portraits

Bart — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 22:38:28 +0000

“It was a great opening of the exposition, very warm-hearted, intense, encouraging”, summarized Mark Eyskens, minister of state, after the opening of the exhibition “Trinities” in Sint-Michiel Peace Church in Leuven last weekend. In bigger-than-life portraits of parents and children, Bart Ramakers tries to capture what they have in common. He presents the result in a third picture, a mixture of both, a new portrait, familiar and strange at the same time.
Katlijn Malfliet, president of the Kerkfabriek, first introduced the mission of St. Michiel Church of Peace, which consists in promoting the dialogue between people, cultures and religions. Lisbeth Imbo was the hostess of the evening, she asked a number of portrayed people about the confrontational and therapeutic aspects of Bart Ramakers’ approach – such as René and Geert Swartenbroekx, Kaat Bollen and her mother Magda, André and Florian Van Halewyck. They were all surprised by the result, especially since they never thought about what they have in common before, let alone have brought that into words. Among the numerous guests were Louis Tobback, the mayor of the city of Leuven, Roland Van Campenhout (blues musician), Marijke Pinoy (actress), Zjef Vanuytsel (musician) with son Sam and daughter Barbara… etcetera. After the interviews Denise Vandervoort, jurat of culture, officially opened the exhibition.
The evening had an unexpected apotheosis when the choir Sankt Augustin from Menden (Germany) found the church door open and brought four songs to a mesmerised audience in the choir of the church – a magical unscheduled event.
The exhibition “Trinities” is still open on 13-14 and 20-21 October, from 10 to 18h, at Sint-Michiel Peace Church in Leuven, as part of the Month of Spirituality.

(Pictures: Cis Van Nijverseel)

Shooting star

Bart — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 15:50:07 +0000

What a beautiful spring this year, great ideas popping up like flowers in the green, and beautiful models dancing in front of my lens like butterflies. Sometimes a brilliant picture falls like a star from the sky, without any warning or preparation. Of course I knew the collaboration with Lily would be sparkling, she’s a natural and she has a great eye for styling. The planned “No strings attached” picture with three string players went amazingly swift, after 10 minutes we had the desired result on the computer screen. So… playing time! Lily choose an amazing combination from her collection of dresses, and then the picture you see on the left just came effortless. I’m very proud of it, I think it deserves to be on the cover of Vogue. Other recent shoots include Samantha, Emily, Jennifer and Jessica, with Dany, Bert, Fred, Hubert and… an mysterious stranger as male counterparts. I hope you don’t mind I keep some pictures for later, in case you’ld expect something unseen from me on an exhibition or in a book, but you can already see some in the “Recent Work” section of my Work. Thanks a lot Rania for the excellent make-up and hairstyling, and thank you Bert Verlinden and Stefaan Gillis for hosting these tales in your castles… !

Closing Time

Bart — Tue, 08 May 2012 21:54:51 +0000

Now it’s closing time, the music’s fading out. Last call for drinks, I’ll have another stout. Well I turn around to look at you … And there you are, dressed in a tutu and pointes only. Descending from your universe of heavenly acrobatics and sheer beauty, like an angel fallen from the sky, lightening my melancholic mood with your grace and elegance. No need to talk or to explain, your presence just says it all and comforts my mortal soul in the deepest hours of night. And when morning comes you’ll be gone with the earliest rays of sunlight, flying your butterfly dance to other continents and destinations… and I’ll be alone in the dark as I was before, searching in vain for a glimpse of your presence, in the smoke that lingers in the air and in the shadows on the bottom of my glass. See the complete series here.

Models: Jessica Peeters, Dany Tulkens – MUA: Rania – Thank you Tom Waits for the opening lines.

Eroica

Bart — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:19:39 +0000

Baron Jean Michel de Selys Longchamps was a Belgian nobleman and World War II RAF fighter pilot remembered for his attack in 1943 on the Gestapo headquarters in Brussels. He was demoted for acting without orders, but he was also awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions. He was killed the 16 August 1943 when his aircraft crashed after a sortie over Ostend.

De Selys Longchamps is a perfect illustration of the audacity that qualifies some heroes. This photograph of mine reflects on human vulnerability and the unpredictability of fate, especially when it’s about heroes.

Model: Johan Bos, Bodypaint artist: Mieke van Gompel

Pastorale

Bart — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 11:24:15 +0000

During the last weekend of the exposition in the Castle de Spoelberch (Lovenjoel), I invited Jessica to model for a shoot with sheep in the park. Jessica is a very acrobatic girl, she does gymnastics since she was 3. At the moment, she’s living her life-long dream by touring with the Cavalia-shows through the USA. She proved to be a very talented shepherdess, although the animals ran over my flashlights twice, and the visitors of the exposition were more interested in her (or the sheep?) than in the exposition!

Thank you Bart Grinaert for the video, Rembrand van Dooren for the assistance and Nathalie Timé for the make up.

“Pastorale” Making of Photoshoot Bart Ramakers from Bart Grinaert on Vimeo.