VANITAS

Dirk Wagemans at Spaziofelice52

Rome, October 18 – November 23, 2026

Opening: Sunday, October 18, 2026, 11:00 am

Spaziofelice52 presents Vanitas, a solo exhibition by Belgian painter Dirk Wagemans. A journey in which the passing of time becomes pictorial matter: vivid colors, figures and symbols that speak of the fragility of what we love.

The theme is not only the title of the show, but a thought that has accompanied the artist all his life. Drawn since childhood to Dalí and Surrealism, Wagemans painted dreamlike images populated by skeletons, dark figures and angels, with himself as an accomplice. His language then evolved towards Expressionism, blended with Pop Art.

“People, my adventures, love… they seem just a few seconds in an endless rush. Sand slipping away through fingers”: this is the feeling from which the artist’s work springs. A life he describes as rich and full of adventure coexists with the awareness that everything is transient, a feeling that grows stronger when he looks at his children, where unconditional love meets the fear that these moments will not last forever.

And yet the works are not dark. Joy of living and fear of the ephemeral live side by side on the canvas: the fear does not scream or take control, but it is there, channeled into the act of painting. The colors, bright and vivid, carry no specific symbolic meaning: they are simply the ones the artist feels like using in the moment.

Through painting, collage and Plexiglas printing, Vanitas renews the ancient memento mori: remembering that everything passes is also an invitation to love more deeply what, for now, is still here.