— Koen Theys
Koen Theys (b. 1963) is among the first generation of Belgian visual artists to explore and adopt video as an artistic medium, beginning in the early 1980s. He gained international recognition with works such as Diana (1984) and an ambitious reinterpretation of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen (1984–1989), created in collaboration with Frank Theys. In later works, such as The Vanitas Record (2005), Theys deconstructs the grand traditions of art history, linking them to contemporary themes. His solo exhibition The Many Things Show (S.M.A.K., Ghent, 2013) continued this approach by re-examining modernist statements.
A defining aspect of Theys’ practice is the deconstruction of icons from Western culture and cultural history, evident across his photographic, video, and sculptural works. His method involves manipulating these icons through displacement, doubling, and morphing, transforming them into inversions of themselves.
Recently, Theys has created a series of video installations—including Fanfare, Calme & Volupté (2007), Patria - Vive le Roi! Vive la République! (2008), Death Fucking Metal (2014), and Serial Drummer Girls (2016)—inspired by the 'tableau vivant' tradition in 19th-century Romantic painting. This Romanticism is further subverted in Waterloo Forever! (2010), a large-scale, grotesque reinterpretation of the aftermath of the Battle of Waterloo.