Work
Travellers (2020-2021)
Travellers is a new series about life and travels during a pandemic.
The need for connection and interaction with other people is always present. Every painting tells a story about the places Christel Van Hemelrijck travelled to, about the people she met and especially the ones who left a lasting impression. The light in these paintings represents the promise of freedom, freedom to travel and meet people without any restrictions.
Stories (2019-2020)
In her series titled “Stories”, the backgrounds become more elaborate, more delicate and the use of a palette knife more feminine. Christel still paints with vibrance, expressing herself passionately. A different pace, new directions and new stories. Truly an artist to discover.
Frank Beekman
Beekman Foundation
Curator Review: Four Days in Lisbon
The superbly articulated flow of reflective pattern and rich color in this work, thoroughly exudes expression. Artist Christel Van Hemelrijck offers up a subtle yet stimulating state of transcribed ‘murmuration’ in her connective piece. An almost trance-like, harmonious composition of introspection and symbolic reflection has been achieved here, and a further exploration of those narratives can be felt. Her wondrously stylized abstraction, most certainly leaves an indelible impression in the mind.
E.E. Jacks - Apero Magazine
Selino (2018)
The island of Crete remains a major source of inspiration, along with her travel experiences. Christel lived in Crete during the nineties and she still spends a lot of time there in the Selino region. Her emotions are expressed through the language of bold colours, with laconic, solid composition and delicate texture mainly on large canvasses. Every painting tells a story.
Rupture (2017)
Christel Van Hemelrijck's work, a vibrant collection of abstract oil paintings, stands out due to the use of texture, colour and light. Those textures can be observed in her earlier series titled "Rupture", mostly energetic and chaotic, where the use of a palette knife is omnipresent.The right kind of punk attitude brings us back to her younger self with a clin d'oeil to the music scene of the late seventies and early eighties.
Frank Beekman
Beekman Foundation