Nils Verkaeren, born in 1980 in Antwerp, Belgium, is a contemporary landscape painter known for his immersive plein air practice and exploration of nature's dynamic essence. He earned his Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp in 2016 and was selected for the Hugo Roelandt Prize that same year. In 2017, he began teaching at the Royal Academy of Antwerp.
Verkaeren's work has been showcased in numerous solo exhibitions, including:
- "The Landscape is Our Alibi" at Galerie IDW, Antwerp, 2024
- "Waiting for the Flowers to Pop" at Galerie Lloyd, Ostend, 2024
- "Presence Of A Mountain" at Kusseneers Gallery, Brussels, 2023
- "The Walls Are My Sketchbook" at Hotel Flora, Antwerp, 2022
- "Splendid Isolation" at Kusseneers Gallery, Brussels, 2018
His group exhibitions feature:
- "Gist" at Zenne Triënnale, Het Huis van Herman Teirlinck, Beersel, 2023
- "Zandgrond, Hedendaagse kunst vanuit Jakob Smits" at De Warande, Turnhout, 2023
- "Aqualex IV" in Knokke, 2023
- "Niemand is een Eiland" in Damme, 2021
- "The Clown Spirit" at Ronny Van de Velde, Antwerp, 2020
Verkaeren has also curated exhibitions such as "ARE(N)A" in Brussels, 2020, and "ETAGE22" in Antwerp, 2016.
His publications include:
- "The Landscape is My Alibi" (2021)
- "Chased by Light" (2019)
- "Splendid Isolation" (2018)
- "Climbing and Painting a Volcano and Letting the Paint Dry" by CASSTL (2017)
Verkaeren's practice delves into the evolving role of contemporary landscape painting within conceptual and process-based methodologies. His work has been featured in exhibition catalogues from Kusseneers Gallery and critically reviewed in Belgian and international art periodicals. He often seeks remote, unspoiled natural settings to immerse himself fully, allowing the environment to influence his creative process. This approach is evident in projects like "Splendid Isolation," inspired by Henry David Thoreau's "Walden," where he secluded himself in Colombia's Sierra Nevada rainforest to reconnect with his artistic identity.
In 2019, Verkaeren participated as the first official artist-in-residence at ArteSumapaz in Colombia, where he engaged deeply with the landscape, reflecting on the interplay between time, movement, and his artistic expression.