Niel de Vries
Niel de Vries (b. 1994, Rotterdam, NL) is an artist currently living and working in Antwerp, BE. He holds an MFA from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp where he studied in the In Situ department, specializing in artistic projects in public spaces. In 2024, he is participating in The European Pavilion: Liquid Becomings and he completed a residency at Buitenplaats Brienenoord in Rotterdam. He is the recipient of a Cultuurfonds Beurs. Previous exhibitions and residencies include Kunstenfestival Watou (2023), 'Still Life, Landscape, Ecosystem' (2022) at the Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, a residency at Knockvologan Studies in Scotland (2022), and a residency at Vermont Studio Center in Vermont, USA (2020).
In his work, he asks questions about the landscapes he inhabits. Coming from the low countries, his investigations focus on riverscapes. He wonders what it means to be a river-dweller in times when these watery environments, so central to life, are under threat due to ecological collapse. Thinking and working with rivers is useful in imagining alternative ways of being on this planet, as they bring to light flaws in dualistic thinking. His practice consists of making excursions along the river where each time he attempts to understand yet another dimension of these ecosystems. Sometimes he joins scientists in the field, observing the ways they work with the river; other times, he scavenges the banks and beaches for materials to use in his projects. River mythologies and archaeology inform his practice. He brings these experiences together in performative lectures, public interventions, and gatherings.
