“SLOW, SIMPLE, SWEET” is the first solo exhibition by Belgian artist Alain Biltereyst in Italy. Biltereyst continues to explore shapes and colours through his plywood paintings series. Although his small paintings tend to be abstract, the artist always starts from an existing (urban) reality.

The study of signs is a theme that runs through Biltereyst’s work. These ties to the present are what differentiate Biltereyst from the abstract art of early last century, which wanted to evoke a world of its own, separate from the existing reality. In his work we always find a reference, to the contemporary everyday life, the here and the now.

The raw wood on which he works, the deliberate errors in the geometric shapes and the inaccuracies created while painting refer to graffiti art dynamics. With a background in graphic design, Biltereyst is fascinated by the vividness and struggle of commercial and other signs in the public arena. A poster, a design on a truck, logos, ads out in the street, etc… all these signs are part of an everyday idiom, blurring the lines between culture and subculture.

“My influences come from everyday life. I’m easily blown away by the brutal elegant design on a passing truck. I just love it and can only hope that my work transmits that same feeling. That one feels “the street” in my paintings.

Through the title “SLOW, SIMPLE, SWEET” I want to stress the simplicity that I strive for. To stand still for the simple, sweet beauty of the everyday