Article Contemporary Art Issue: 7 Emerging Artists To Watch in 2022

Ritsart Gobyn
One of the lesser known artists from our list, a true discovery in 2021 is one of Belgium’s most promising young artists, Ritsart Gobyn. Born in 1985, Gobyn lives and works in Ghent, and is best known for his unique trompe-l’oeil paintings, marked by subtlety and illusion. At first, his unprimed linen paintings seem as if they have been smudged with marks of paint and masking tape, with often a small still life, or fragments of a painting or photograph, attached to the canvas.

However, there is no masking tape, nor can we find actual small pieces of paper depicting a landscape. Everything has been painted, reinvigorating trompe-l’oeil painting in an era in which mimesis and the niche of trompe-l’oeil painting seem to be a thing of the past. Doing so, Gobyn examines the artistic process of painting. He questions the status of painting, not only as an image, but also as a process and object.[2]

We encounter a similar strategy when it comes to his exhibitions. It seems as if the gallery space is not finished yet, and they are still in the process of building the show. Masking tape, unhung paintings, or a ready-made decorative sculpture of a pile of drywalls can be found on the gallery floor. Ritsart Gobyn’s works and shows are something different, as a result we are convinced he is one of thé artists to watch in 2022.