We’ve barely recovered from a whirlwind month of May when the highlight of this half-year arrives: the opening on Saturday, June 7th at 3 PM of ‘Le Bal Masqué du Fol’ by Carolein Smit and Clément Jacques-Vossen, followed at 5 PM by ‘Stratum Super Stratum’ by Frank JMA Castelyns.
Join us for this celebration! After the stunning exhibitions featuring Dany Tulkens and Mireille Robbe, Karel Mus and Joke Raes + Thibo Moreels, this promises to be another artistic feast of the highest caliber!
Le Bal Masqué du Fol
7 June – 13 July 2025
A collaboration with Jonathan F. Kugel, Brussels
Festive vernissage with fanfare | 7 June, 3 PM
In the duo exhibition Le Bal Masqué du Fol, the exuberant works of Clément Jacques-Vossen dialogue with the enchanting ceramic sculptures of Carolein Smit. Her pieces explore pain, vulnerability, and the emotional dilemmas arising from the divide between good and evil, innocence and guilt, life and death—a tangled knot of contradictions embedded in her art.
Both artists share a deep affinity for the Middle Ages, esotericism, art history, myths, legends, and tarot, weaving these influences into contemporary narratives that culminate in breathtaking visual spectacles. Le Bal Masqué du Fol promises a whirlwind exhibition where every mask reveals another secret.
Stratum Super Stratum
7 June – 13 July 2025
Festive vernissage at 5 PM on 7 June—warmly welcome!
Frank JMA Castelyns traverses the world as an artist, seeking philosophical reflection. Striking events and symbols ignite his senses and empathy, resulting in works with both sensitizing qualities and serene simplicity. The aesthetic layer comes first; beneath it lies deeper meaning, anchored in the “memory functions” of his art. Memories tend to fade softly, only to resurface violently through a word, image, or association. Castelyns’ works might best be described as “rememberers”—symbolic signs charged with emotion, born from a sensitive intellect and speaking on a cerebral level.
Each piece unfolds a mental plane rich with art historical and sociocultural narratives, traditions, and figures. These inherent touchpoints invite viewers to delve into their own memories, uncovering stories, messages, or meanings—sometimes thrilling, sometimes shocking, always sensitive. Castelyns’ art moves between worlds, mapping intersections.
(Adriaan Gonnissen)
To celebrate the exhibition “Le Bal Masqué du Fol” with Clément Jacques-Vossen, we are releasing a limited edition of the playful work “Ensor à la Plage,” where Ensor and Ostend bask in the sunlight.
Only five copies of this edition are available, in a generous size of 45 x 75 cm (total size including white border: 65 x 100 cm), printed on beautiful pearl-white fine art paper from the renowned manufacturer Hahnemühle, each signed and numbered. For the gallery’s valued clients, this gem is temporarily available for pre-order at €695 instead of €750. You can reserve your copy here.
This offer is valid until Whit Monday, June 9, 2025. After this date, any remaining copies (if still available) will be sold at €750.
“Le Bal Masqué du Fol” runs until July 13. An overview of the (still) available works can be found here.
Galerie P, together with Oever, AHWNN, CAS, Galerie Lloyd, and Studio 221, is part of Oostende.art, a dynamic association putting Ostend on the map as a gallery city. On the homepage of Oostende.art, you’ll find a day-by-day overview of current exhibitions, making it easy to plan your art visit to the “City by the Sea”!
Mark your calendar: the sixth gallery weekend will take place from May 1 to 4, 2025, with two vernissages at Galerie P and P+ on May 1 (at 3 PM and 4 PM), and on May 4, the city walk, studio visit, and dinner with Clément Jacques-Vossen (fully booked).
Adress
Kursaal-Oosthelling 10
(next to bookshop De Witte Zee)
8400 Ostend
info@galeriep.be
Kursaal-Oosthelling 8
(next to Galerie P)
8400 Ostend