- Art & Design
Once upon a time, Dean Recoules envisaged a career as an interior decorator, until he took a different path: art. We talked about his journey to the more artistic, his fascination with art and his greatest inspirations. His work is abstract, timeless and rough, yet radiates joy. Reasons enough to put Recoules in the spotlight.
From his passion for beautiful things, colour and textiles, Dean Recoules opted for higher studies in interior architecture after studying plastic arts in Bruges. Although he began his training at the KASK in Ghent with great enthusiasm, his interest in painting began to demand more and more attention. Recoules took evening courses, visited various studios abroad and became very intrigued by a studio in the south of France. He succumbed more and more to his passion and opted definitively for painting. Deep inside, he always wanted to work expressively with his hands and he was always fascinated by the difference in materials. Mostly, Recoules wanted to create something himself, to be able to bring out a feeling. The result is a portfolio in which contrasts with texture, raw materials and colours are central.
He gets his inspiration from works by the American painter Mark Rothko, figurehead of abstract expressionism, but also from those of the late Catalan artist Antoni Tàpies. His creativity was also always encouraged by his grandmother; she had an enormous eye for beautiful things. Furthermore, from the beginning Recoules' wife and children were his greatest support in pursuing this wild dream. It is also these people who encouraged him to bring his work out to the public. For this reason, the artist decided to display his works in a showroom in Bruges. Afterwards, they were also noticed by a few art experts, which immediately gave him the confirmation to definitely go after his passion. Soon he was able to sell his art at well-known interior design shops such as Bea Mombaers' in Knokke and Ann-Sophie De Stoop's in Authentic and so. 
Recoules' art can be defined by terms such as pure, brutalist and organic.
When people look at Dean Recoules' work, the artist hopes above all to evoke a good feeling and to be an added value in a space. Sometimes it seems as if his work has always been there and that is exactly what he does it for. The artist also has a very specific style of creation; he literally puts his stamp on every work, which makes his work very easy to recognise. Recoules' art can be defined by terms such as pure, brutalist and organic. Nature, sustainability and ecology always take the upper hand in his work and this is translated in the choice of materials and colours. Without a doubt, Dean Recoules' greatest source of inspiration is his surroundings. He has a very detailed vision and very quickly absorbs everything he perceives in his immediate surroundings.
The most enjoyable phase of the process according to Dean Recoules? ‘Starting with a blank canvas and not knowing where it will go to finally see the end result hanging in the hands of people who are happy with it.’ After all, as an artist, you take a journey through the creative process to get to the end result. The message Recoules wants to convey to those who see his work is primarily one of tranquillity. Everybody interprets his work differently, of course, but that's what makes it interesting according to Dean Recoules. Spectators all look at the same work, but every time there is a different feeling. This is also the reason why he never assigns a name to his work.
If you want to learn more about Dean Recoules, be sure to read our full article in Imagicasa Summer 2021.
Header image: © Authentic and so
Image 1: © Authentic and so
Images 2-3: © Dean Recoules
Images 4-5: © Dean Recoules
Image 6: © Authentic and so