Willem Boel

BIO | SELECTED WORKS | CV

Willem Boel (b. 1983, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium) bases his practice on the use of industrial structures and objects, stripped of their original function and reconstructed with artistic intent and a rigorous sense of composition. The historical and conceptual weight of these elements, serving as both support and artwork, along with the frequent buildup of paint, creates a density of information and materiality that contrasts in balance with the empty spaces and visual lightness of his pieces. These elements raise questions around disciplinary boundaries and traditional formats. The importance of process as a key component of his work lends significant value to time and duration.

Willem Boel works mainly in series, with notable bodies of work including Le chef d’oeuvre inconnu, De Nieuwe Molens, Pare Feu and Sancho Don’t Care. In 2015, he was awarded the prestigious Grand Prize at the Salon de Montrouge. Boel had his first solo exhibition, Soon You'll Be Eaten, at BARBÉ in 2023 and in 2025 the gallery showed his monumental sculpture Sancho Don't Care #05 at the Brussels Expo site during Art Brussels. He has exhibited at institutions such as Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Museum M in Leuven, Belgium; and Loods 12 in Wetteren, Belgium. His monumental installation Sancho Don’t Care #05 - an 11-meter-high sculpture is currently touring across Europe, having been shown in Latvia, Denmark, France, and Belgium. In 2021, Boel participated in the Bruges Triennial (Belgium); Artissima (Turin, Italy); Art Rotterdam (Netherlands); Art Brussels (Belgium) and Kunstverein, Peschkenhaus Moers (Germany). His work is collected by the National Bank of Belgium and Museum M (Leuven, Belgium). In September 2025 he had a solo exhibition Memo at Hilario Galguera Gallery in Mexico City (MX). In 2026 he will install a permanent work in public space, commissioned by the Community of Brussels (BE) and participated in the Triennial of the 3HKP Sculpture Park as part of the Krohne Art Kollektion in Landkreis Vulkaneifel, Rheinland-Pfalz, (Germany).