L’Arbre
pourfendu

It is said that they communicate, but who can imagine the merciless struggle that trees sometimes engage in to have a little more soil and light? In the Gardens of Europe, Bob Verschueren transports us to the time of single combat challenges and piercing spears… A journey between epic and fantastic!
Yet far from Italo Calvino’s novel, The Cloven Viscount, this work alludes to the depth of the philosophical tales of the author dear to Bob Verschueren. L’Arbre pourfendu still stands. Will the sapling that punctures it have the last laugh? In this struggle for influence, it is not necessarily the strongest who wins. But towards wich allegory does this work lead us? It is up to us to draw out the intertwined threads and discover the multiple readings. The tangy scent of surrealism is joined by the din of chivalrous novels, dazzling epics, the violence of tournaments and the dizzying imprint of a fantasy world.

After practicing painting, Bob Verschueren began his “wind paintings” in 1978, natural pigments spread in the wind across the landscape. From this decisive turning point came his interest in nature and plants in particular. Since then, he has carried out more than 350 installations in Europe and elsewhere. He also investigates other fields such as sound, engraving, photography, etc. A wasteland, a forest, an exhibition space… are so many workshops for him. Bob Verschueren is a member of the Royal Academy of Belgium in the Arts class.