Simon Demeuter (born in 1991 in Soignies, Belgium) lives and works in Brussels. His painting practice is driven by a search for bold simplification of form, inducing his works with pictorial freshness and a sense of immediacy. Colour is the artist’s primordial tool to evoke an emotion, an impression, a sensation, a mood or a physical or mental state. Drawing from childhood memories as well as from travels and encounters, his imagery conveys both an inner landscape as references to Folk Art, the Impressionists, cinema or music. A trivial object, as arbitrary as it may seem, can be the start for an entire new series of paintings. In addition, when dealing with models, they become objectified motifs like any other. Compositions and sceneries are repainted endlessly, with gestural variations in colour, size and through imperfections. In doing so, Simon tries to unearth the trace of an emotion in the simplest and most stripped way. On show: His Ghosts series pays tribute to his departed Italian grandfather Dante, an artisan based in Binche who was commissioned to produce a series of giant masks, to be placed at the city’s entry roads during its yearly Carnival. Working solely from the remaining negative mould, Simon’s portraits brings this cultural tradition back to life, as well as his admiration and connection to his family heritage.