Since 1974, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven has been making drawings that emerge from her subconscious. She refuses to find logical meaning in her mindmaps. However, the drawings do enable her to make her perceptions and dreams more tangible. Kalligraphie was the first series of works Van Kerckhoven made upon her return home to Antwerp in 2007, following her residency at DAAD in Berlin and a stay in Shanghai.

‘I like to create series of drawings that are closely associated with the reading of books from different fields that inspire me or tie in with my evolution. I confront the information from the books – both form and content – with my intuitive act of drawing. The essence of the image appears on the paper, straight from my hand, without interference from my brain.’

The drawings in question came into being after consulting books on Giordano Bruno, the structures of atoms and molecules, and an article on Saturn. As the series progressed, certain laws imposed themselves, in terms of approach, method, colour, motifs and use of materials.

Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven’s Kalligraphie series was first shown at Manifesta 7 in Trento in 2008. Subsequently, the full series was also presented at Museum M in Leuven in 2010 and at Kunstverein München in 2015.