With the exhibition Kruimeldief, Quinten Ingelaere (b. 1985, Belgium) presents a new series of small paintings. The title serves as a provocative self-portrait: Ingelaere positions himself as a visual ‘petty thief’ — an astute artist who steals fragments from art history, everyday banality and language, then puts them to new use.
In this series, the artist constructs metaphors using vegetables, fruit and bread. By drilling into these everyday objects and cutting shapes out of them, he creates still lifes in which observation, poetic imagery and humorous references intertwine. The objects lose their original function and become new, meaningful compositions.
The essence of the work, however, lies in the space between the painted image and its title. A tension emerges as image and title interact: the words offer guidance while simultaneously seeking to lead the viewer astray. In this way, Ingelaere transforms seemingly insignificant crumbs of information into a layered new whole