Serge Van de Put

"The transformation of an everyday object into a substance of art. Serge Van de Put, Belgian artist, was born in Antwerp in 1958, and currently lives in Venice where he has set up his studio. Through his travels, Serge discovers the ingenuity of the Africans, who give a second life to tires; an indestructible material, which they use to make buckets, shoes, etc. .... 

After having had his own advertising agency for several years, Serge has fun with this material to realize the portrait of an African. Seduced by the idea of transforming a common object at the end of its life into a substance of art, Serge starts to work seriously and attacks more consequent works.

Like clay for a classical sculptor, he does a modelling work. Under the appearance of a playful work, an assembly of a great mastery appears where nothing is left to chance. Each piece is chosen for its texture, leading the work in a desired movement, thus breathing a soul into his creations.

Quickly noticed by the art world, the artist has had many exhibitions throughout Europe and his fame allows him to create more and more imposing works. In 2009, he created a life-size elephant, exhibited at the Venice Biennale, which is now part of the collection of the American Art Foundation of the "Château de la Napoule". 

In 2012, a 10-meter long dinosaur on the theme of recycling was acquired by the association of museums of Genoa for the port. Serge Van de Put now lives in Venice, where he installed his studio. He continues to collaborate with European galleries, and feeds on ever more ambitious projects."