Sigefride Bruna Hautman

Poetry congealed in images—this is how one might describe the multifaceted work of Sigefride Bruna Hautman. Since the 1980s, she has been a unique voice in the Belgian art world, working across sculpture, video, drawings and text-based works. Her oeuvre addresses universal social issues and existential questions, as well as personal and interpersonal relationships. Her works are distinctly figurative, navigating between hyperrealism and stylisation, legibility and symbolism, simplicity and complex layering. She draws inspiration from art, music and literature, citing influences as diverse as Giotto, Oskar Schlemmer, Samuel Beckett and David Bowie.

Following her studies at the Antwerp Academy, Hautman rapidly established a reputation in the art world. Within a circle of like-minded artists, she participated in public actions and produced thought-provoking text works and sculptures. In the 1980s and ’90s, her artistic output became increasingly personal and intimate, almost like a sculptural journal. She created portraits of her family members and reflected on her life and place in the world.

This exhibition not only honors her past achievements but also celebrates her ongoing artistic evolution. It marks the first time that she has presented a comprehensive overview of her work, revealing both her thinking and the origin of her unique visual language.

This retrospective is curated by Valerie Verhack, and is the occasion for a first monograph by M Leuven in collaboration with Lenz Press.