Piet Altenloh
photography :: paintings :: ceramics
[ in French - en français ]
A contemporary artist, born in 1951 in Ixelles (Brussels - Belgium).
Painter, photographer, self-taught in both disciplines. Made his debut in 1979 with drawings in Indian ink.
For a decade, armed with brushes and colors, picking up cameras that fell from the sky, he strolled around the 15° circle of latitude: India, Southeast Asia, West Africa, Central America, plus some extras in the Himalayas and Japan in 1985 where he learned to paint on rice paper (washi) and ink (sumi) with the traditional brushes (fudé) and acrylic and / or pigments in a « tripal » style located between a purified sumi E (traditional Japanese) and abstract expressionism.
At the same time, the eye glued to the viewfinder of the occasional « Canon », he framed urban landscapes from Tokyo to Bangkok and Manila.
In 1989 he was bitten by the Spanish fly that held him for about ten years on the borders of the Mediterranean, injecting a good dose of fire and light in its two main activities - ¡ Olé !
In 1998 the circumstances led him back to Brussels where he rediscovered with amazement the fortunately still preserved end of the century architectural alignments - Art Deco at the same time as the northern light he hunts that touches the facades that fascinate him. His retinas smashed to pieces to waylay the enlightenment that would save their souls in their poor residency.
This led to an explosion of hundreds of photos taken in all directions in all seasons, some of which are exhibited at the library of « Latin Quarters » in Brussels. « Very sensitive images of Brussels that appears like a dream nourished with the chances of a stroll » one would say « Le Vif L'Express » (Belgian magazine).
The publisher « Plaizier » chose to edit some of his pictures in postcards.
Since 2004, Piet Eltenloh lives and works in Oostende, Belgium. Along with painting, that he has deepened over the years, he produces photographs in which he perfectly captures the particular brightness of the North Sea that surrounds him: Series on Oostende city - port - heaven - sea - dunes.
Overview: Years / Successive stay / Artistic evolution
1979 :: Brussels :: Start of his artistic activities: Indian ink drawings - oil paintings
1981 - 1988 :: West Africa, Central America, India, Southeast Asia, Himalaya, Japan / Tokyo :: Initiation journey armed with pencils, colours and a photo camera. Reflection on the multitudes of impressions from the world that surrounds him in new paintings made with mixed techniques. Simultaniously, the start of his professional photo career. Paintings on rice paper (washi) and ink (sumi) with traditional brushes (fudé) - exploration of acrylic painting and natural pigments. Development of his own painting style: a fusion between japanese ancestral painting « sumi E » and the Western abstract expressionnism. Urban landscape photography from Tokyo, Bangkok, Manilla, Puerto Princesa.
1989 - 1998 :: Spain, Portugal, Switzerland :: Photos about the soul of the Spanish and Portuguese landscape: Series on Barcelona, Valencia, Andalusia, Pais Valenciano and Lisbon. Paintings: Series of mural frescos fresques in Spanish private properties.
1998 :: Brussels After 17 years abroad, wonderful re-discovery of his native town and his architecture. He chases the gentle touch of the northern light on the facades that fascinate him. Explosion of hundreds of photos taken in any direction, during all seasons in the streets of Brussels.
2001 - 2003 :: France / Languedoc-Roussillon A two year stay that gives birth to a series of sensitive photos on the particular atmosphere and the hidden faces of the typical French villages: Series on Sète, Montpellier, Béziers, Villeneuvette and Clermont l'Hérault.
2004 - ... Oostende Parallel to his painting, realisation of photos in which he captures the marvel of the luminosity on the North Sea that surrounds him: Series on Oostende town - harbour - sky - sea - dunes.
Expositions / Publishers Description
1981 Horta Museum, Brussels :: Indian ink drawings with an execptional originality.
1985 Librairie Galivan, Brussels :: Small formats with Indian ink, exuberantly coloured.
1985 Tokyo, Paris, San Francisco, Taipei :: Expositions of paintings, mixed techniques.
1990 Valencia, Alicante, Tokyo :: Expositions of paintings, mixed techniques.
1995 Lausanne :: Gallery Le Gland des Cieux: Erotic paintings. Gallery Parti Pris: Mixed paintings.
1998 Librairie Quartiers Latins, Brussels :: Exposition of photos about Brussels.
2003 Clermont l'Hérault :: Exposition of photos about typical French villages.
2004 Publisher « Plaizier » Postcards with his photos about Brussels.
2006 Paris :: Au-dessous du Volcan (Under the Volcano). Exposition of paintings.
2007 Brussels :: Pubication of a book with Claude Javaux « Bruxelles façades » - C.F.C. Editions. Librairie Quartiers Latins: Photo exposition « Terre et Ciel » [Earth and Sky/Heaven].
« Abundance, color, color combinations, gasoline and birth traits .... The line won't die, never. Always follow it in the circumvolutionous play it suggests and get lost with it. It is contoured to fill and limited to the madness of the author. It is also the framework to align the fantasies of the painter. The stroke of Piet Altenloh « poutour » his journeys from Spain to Japan, Asia to Africa .... From ink to blood, blood to water, water to man and man to the gods »
excerpt from « Les Albums coloriés de Piet Altenloh » (The Coloured Albums of Piet Altenloh) Pierre Dherte.
