ARNE QUINZE

The exhibition “I’m a Gardener”, which, together with the installation “Ceramorphia”, delves deeper into his exploration of the relationship between humanity and biodiversity, marks Quinze’s first major exhibition in Italy. Held at the OCA exhibition space, it features a selection of paintings and works on canvas that explore the relationship between humanity and nature.

The surfaces, marked by chromatic tensions and dynamic layering, do not depict the landscape but convey its vital energy—through growth, collisions, and metamorphosis. Painting and installation thus reveal themselves as two manifestations of the same creative core: an investigation into the generative force of life and the need to restore balance and variety to spaces inhabited by humans.

An internationally renowned artist, Quinze has developed a consistent body of work exploring the relationship between nature and the human-made environment. After his debut in the graffiti art scene in the 1980s, his practice evolved through large-scale public installations and series of paintings presented in museums and international contexts. At the heart of his work lies the wildflower garden surrounding his studio in Belgium, a living laboratory he has observed for over thirty years according to his own logic: it is from this daily immersion in biodiversity that a practice emerges which finds in OCA an ideal context for direct engagement with the landscape.

Arne Quinze, born on December 15, 1971, in Ghent, is a Belgian conceptual artist best known for his large-scale plant-like sculptures and installations, often created using recycled materials.

Quinze’s artistic path diverged from traditional academic training: he attended the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels but later dropped out and entered the art world through his early forays into graffiti art, which provided a foundation for his subsequent large-scale installations and exploration of public space.

Quinze has created numerous works around the world. Among the most significant are “Uchronia” (2006), a large temporary wooden installation created for the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada; “Cityscape” (2007–2009), an imposing temporary wooden sculpture installed in the Louise district of Brussels; “La Sequenza” (2008), a large wooden installation on Leuvenseweg in Brussels, connecting the buildings of the Flemish Parliament with the Flemish House of Representatives, and “Faro Rosso” (2010) in Jing’an Sculpture Park in Shanghai, China.

For Quinze, the connection to nature is essential—vital in the truest sense of the word. As if on a mission, the Belgian artist seeks to break the monotony of contemporary cities by transforming streets and squares into open-air museums, all with a single goal: to bring people together, foster connections and a sense of community, and celebrate the value of diversity.