Koen van den Broek
Casting Balance, 2020 (edition of 50)
Screen print 70 x 50 cm

Casting Balance is a screenprint based on the same-titled painting that Belgian painter Koen van den Broek made in 2019. For his first overview exhibition, The Beginning, at Galerie Ron Mandos in 2020, he produced this screenprint symbolising hope and a new beginning. And this is exactly the situation we find ourselves in after the floods. We remain hopeful, and this auction marks our fresh start.

Casting Balance is a new type of work for Van den Broek. The artist found this twig with autumn leaves close to his home. Typically, Van den Broek tries to distance himself from the grey Belgian landscape, but he absorbs this landscape in this work. Casting Balance reflects on a lonely period, symbolised by the twig’s fragility. Yet, it is also about discovering a new balance. ‘I eventually started speaking to myself and those twigs during this period. This “casting” is like an actor who is assigned a role in a movie. The twigs were allowed to audition and were given a role in my work,’ explains Van den Broek.

Galerie Ron Mandos, Amsterdam, donated this work.