Gustave Demoen

Gustave Demoen is a visual artist, curator, musician, performer and initiator of the ‘Etna, Art & Research Center’. He lives and works mainly in Brussels, Belgium.
In his multidisciplinary art practice he is often guided by his environment, its coincidences and encounters that take place there:
in art school he played in an improvisation collective (a-e-i-o-u),on his bedroom window he organized an art space (TINA)& from his collection of Etna postcards he created a video installation (Fuoco).

Upcoming “Cinema Belvédère” Kunst & Zwalm curated by Kunstenplatform Plan B
Klein Zwitserland, Munkzwalm
30-31.08.2025

For Kunst & Zwalm, een-twee (Janes Zeghers & Gustave Demoen) is building an in-situ cinema, a sculpture somewhere between observation tower, resting place and tribune. There they will exhibit a landscape film to let you get lost in a summer cornfield. They will serve popcorn spiced with the flavors of the environment.

More soon!

Festival des ArbresJosaphatparc, Brussels
28.05.2025

During the Festival des Arbres, a one-day drawing festival organized by een-twee (Janes Zeghers and Gustave Demoen), some six hundred drawings were made by as many drawers.
A team of professional artists and illustrators was on hand to assist park visitors where needed. Using charcoal made from fallen twigs in the park, local residents and visitors made beautiful drawings of their favorite tree.

At the central point, all the drawings were collected into an ad hoc exhibition. A short festive performance concluded a magical day in Josaphat Park.

© Cato Van Rijckeghem
Participating artists: Aniss El Hamouri, McCloud, Maya Strobbe, Maïly Beyrens Xu, Annelien Snyers, Irmak Yurur, Jana Vasiljević, Yingda Dong, Mirra Markhaeva, Hamada M Elkept, Nikoloz Maisuradze, May Abnet.

Graphic design by Eva Moulaert aka Dear Reader.

Many thanks to Vroom Space, Globe Aroma, Monica Fierlafijn Annys, Pablo, Audrey De Buck, Martha Balthazar, Vincent, Seppe Dylan, Carmine Swerts, Lowie Vandenberghe, Kasper Demeulemeester, Nerina Triolo, Anthea Demoen en Eve Zeghers.

This festival was made possible with the support of Faire Culture 1030.

Building a table
Collective Performance, Openbare Werken: A day of Kinship, viernulvier, Ghent
Zarlarswing Boerderie, Zarlardinge
09.05.2025

On the occasion of A Day of Kinship, organized within the framework of Openbare Werken, een-twee (Janes Zeghers and Gustave Demoen) devised a construction kit. Participants were invited to roll up their sleeves and could lose themselves in a large visual collective puzzle.
The work resulted in trestles, tabletops and finally in a long table at which afternoon meals could be enjoyed by those present.

The trestles and table tops were donated afterwards to the farm, Zarlarswing Boederie, where the event took place.

Cyriel Documentary, 39’07”
December 2024

In 2015, Cyriel ended his own life. The young musician and composer from Ghent, Belgium, had only just begun a new course of study in Amsterdam. For his parents, Krista and Tom, it is only now, several years later, that the immense grief is truly beginning to sink in, with overwhelming consequences. At the same time, their vegetable patch has never been so full of life.

Filmmaker Gustave Demoen, the best friend Cyriel left behind, spends a year closely following his parents in the idyllic setting of their rural home, acting as both confidant and observer.
As the seasons pass, we come to know Krista and Tom, who, full of love for their son and for each other, find ways to ease the weight of daily life through small, everyday rituals.

Spoken in Dutch
Subtitled in English

Graphic design © Katrien Daemers

Excerpt “Cyriel”, 39’07”

Filmstills “Cyriel”, © Gustave Demoen

a film by

Gustave Demoen

featuring

Krista De Mulder & Tom De Clippel

colourist

Mon Dewulf

sound mix

Anton Lambert

music

'Perpetuum Mobile' by Accidental Tourists

subtitles

Jonathan Beaton

typography

Katrien Daemers

special thanks

Martí Madaula Esquirol, Joy Maurits, Aulona Fetahaj, Ninon Lacroix, Janes Zeghers, Ewoud Vermote, Erik Lamens / Erik Nerinckx & the Academy of Fine Arts Anderlecht, Katrien Dierickx, Peter Vandenberghe, Cato Van Rijckeghem, Ruben Pauwels, Carmine De Swerts, Lowie Vandenberghe, Katrien Daemers, Anthea, Palatine & Nikolaas Demoen.

This film was shot in Brakel, Belgium.
In memoriam, Cyriel De Clippel, 1995–2015

Ateliers participatifs de l’Enjoliveur
Atelier de l’Enjoliveur - Quartier Gaucheret Schaerbeek, Brussels
06.10.2024 - 19.12.2024

In January 2024, artist and teacher Roel Kerkhofs moved into his new studio in the gaucheret neighborhood of Schaerbeek, Brussels. As part of his doctorate: the fight against loneliness, trying to reveal mystic truths (quote Martin Creed) and out of love for collective creation, he invited a group of former students to become part of the Atelier de l’Enjoliveur.

In the future, the studio wants to become a place for experimentation and exhibitions but before inviting outside people, it wants to get to know its neighbors. Driven by curiosity and the search for beauty in the everyday life, Roel Kerkhofs and Gustave Demoen together built a cart with which they want to get to know the relatively small neighborhood of about 10 streets.

The cart symbolizes the floor of the studio, which was not accidentally painted in the same dark red. Over a period of two months, they drive out the floor three times for four days in search of a parking spot where they can stop temporarily. Once parked, the cart and all the art work materials it carries becomes an object of dialogue. In doing so the passersby are invited to make their own contribution to the project or cart that often changes its function: a table, a stage, a musical instrument, a canvas, a kitchen....

Before the studio became a home for artists, it was a car garage. The name enjoliveur refers to a hubcap in French or literally translated a beautifier. In Ateliers participatifs de l’Enjoliveurs, Roel and Gustave share their own and go in search of the neighbors their enjoliveurs de la vie.

Double You Double YouBizet Bizar, Brussels
05 - 07.07.2024

What if a saxophonist sits on a 20-meter swing? What if a skateramp becomes an instrument? How does it feel to collectively read a short story accompanied by a live soundtrack?

Spread over three days, Werkplaats Walter organized a series of twelve musical experiments. Each time, musicians were asked to improvise to an everyday event of a park. These events were performed by neighborhood initiatives: Emancipower Boxing Club, MUS-E in collaboration with Cultureghem, Tai Chi Equilibre en Mouvement, Museums of Belgium with their kites etc.

Curated by een-twee (Janes Zeghers & Gustave Demoen) as part of their residency in Werkplaats Walter.

© Monica Annys Fierlafijn
Participating artists: Roxane Metayer, MUS-E Belgium, Sarah Lauwers, Orphan Fairytale, Museums of Belgium, a-e-i-o-u, Shoko Igarashi, Anouk Neyens, Les Gastrosophes, Teun Verbruggen, Tsubasa Hori, Robbe Broeckx, Emancipower, Lynn Cassiers, FUZZY Quintet, Victor Van Wassenhove, Anton Lambert, BX’elles, Gilles Vandecaveye-Pinoy, Maya Dhondt, Andrew Claes, Come On Feet (jam), The Sonic Weather Station, Florence Cats, Clara Lévy, Taichie Equilibre en Mouvement, Watcharita Aroon, Fester Vogels & Lila Maria de Coninck, Haring Books and een-twee.

Many thanks to the golden audioduo: Oscar Claus and Rodion Gholobov.

This festival was made possible with the support of Werkplaats Walter, Urban Brussels, 1070 Cultuur, Vlaanderen Verbeelding Werkt and VGC Brussel.

Tien euro voor een bord*de Koer, Ghent
25.05.2024

Brussels artist duo een-twee invited as many visual as performance artists for an evening of food, art, performance, concerts, drinks and dancing. All actions were gathered around a large yellow table they built with the help of a group of neighborhood volunteers. This table cleaved throught all the six different spaces of de Koer, bringing together a sculpture and a performance in each space.

A series of plates were made especially for this evening. When the delicious meal was finished, you could see a drawing appear. These were drawn by the local art school. The evening’s lineup was shown on the back of the plate. As a dessert, each visitor could take home a plate as a souvenir at the end of the night.

© Faber Mahieu
Participating artists: Linus Vandewolken, Olga Dhaene & Maikel De Greve, Radio Hito, Clara Spilliaert, Hot Bodies, Mathias Prenen, Mamore, DJ Loessy, Betül Sefika and een-twee.

Many thanks to the students of Sint-Lucas Kunsthumanoira for drawing on the plates, the cooking team of the Koer for the amazing meal and last but not least the fabulous building team of de Koer who made it possible to build the scenography: Kalli, Laure, Benwa, Dany, Mathias, Erfan, Lorenzo & Marec.

This evening was made possible with the support of de Koer, the City of Ghent and Culture Ghent.

Les Mouchoirs de PocheCONVENT Art Space & Industriemuseum, Ghent
1-21.12.2023

Gustave Demoen brought together 33 artists who are all handkerchief devotees. He invited them to each interpret the handkerchief in their own personal way. The results were presented in a scenography by architect Joris Kerremans.

Exhibition views © Cato Van Rijckeghem

There was a performances at the opening by Duo Naan who composed a piece inspired by the air articulation of blowing into a handkerchief and there were different readings over the course of the evening by Sneeze Ensemble: musician and visual artist Lukas De Clerck recited the Sneeze Ensemble’s manifesto.

Vernissage © Cato Van Rijckeghem

After 3 weekends the exhibition moved to the Industriemuseum where it entered into dialogue with the centuries-old textile tradition of Ghent.

Industriemuseum © Martin Corlazzoli

Participating artists: Celine Aernoudt, Jonas Apers, Stan Auwers, Leonie Buysse, Stefan Clappaert, Olga D’haene, Lukas De Clerck, Krista De Mulder, Kasper De Vos, Laurence Decraene, Louise Degraeve, Hans Demeulenaere, Gustave Demoen, Nikolaas Demoen, Carina Diepens, Dieter Durinck, Gerard Herman, Judith Herman, Veva Leye, Oona Libens, Amber Meulenijzer, Patrick Meulenijzer, Ruben Pauwels, Dries Peeters, Elisa Raciti, Guy Rombouts, Ad van Campenhout, Jakob Van den Broucke, Pomme Van Laer, Dries Van Laethem, Charlotte Vandenbroucke, Klaas Vanhee, Lisa Vantorre.

The exhibition was made possible with the support of the City of Ghent, Culture Ghent and Duvel Moortgat.

Great Noses Are Blown AlikeZakdoekenpocket — Les Mouchoirs de Poche (NL - ENG)
Posture Editions, 2023

The publication ‘Great Noses Are Blown Alike — Zakdoekenpocket — Les Mouchoirs de Poche’ was conceived to coincide with the exhibition ‘Les Mouchoirs de Poche’, for which Gustave Demoen brought together 33 artists who are all handkerchief devotees.

Cover © Posture Editions
There is a multitude of rituals associated with the handkerchief that are in danger of dying out should its use be discontinued. In the book, a text by Herta Müller lists some of these customs. Oriana Lemmens’ text in turn dwells on the history of this cloth artefact. All 33 handkerchief designs will be reproduced in the pocket-sized book. Finally, each artist has provided a short text to accompany their handkerchief.

Great Noses Are Blown Alike © Posture Editions

Graphic design: Louise Degraeve and Judith Herman.
Texts: Herta Müller and Oriana Lemmens.
Book concept: Gustave Demoen & Posture Editions.

The publication was made possible with the support of the City of Ghent and Culture Ghent.