Sten Ceulemans is a visual artist based in Brussels, mainly working with photography and installation. His work can manifest itself in various media; a framed barite print, a document folder or a transport crate.
There is an investigative approach, that is often combined with fiction and parody. In the publication The Bureaucratic Tango of two steps forward and one step back (2023), he plays with the concept of ‘bureaucracy’ in its entirety, using metaphors and typical aesthetic features found in such systems.
Later on he published A Visit to the Arts & History Museum of Brussels (2023). In this publication, his collection of photographs were subtly manipulated through; removing, adding, cutting and fumbling. Multiple layers, became one layer. Photography is a medium that minimizes everything down to one flat base. Any literal layering, depth and scale is compressed into one layer. His practice both embraces and subvertes -the action of conservation.
When this collection of photographs adopted the form of an installation, it was titled From Cellar to the Sun (2024). The choice was made to frame the images very museum-like. The pile of negatives as well as digital files suddenly became a collection of considerable logistical size. During several exhibitions, the picture frames were placed on the floor, against the wall. The act of hanging was not performed. It was an unfinished execution of the museological playbook.
Finer works accompanied the collection on several occasions. Contact prints depicting a walk through the museum, a blank admission ticket, anecdotes from various visits or buckets insinuating a water leak.
His practice revolves around the various museum institutions of Brussels. Critically but playfully, he has been building an archive for years that is characterised by the iconographic elements typical of museology. Topics include; museum politics, curatorship, decolonization, collection management and archives.
Exhibitions & fairs
2025 F21, Fondation A Stichting (Brussels)
2025 Tresholds, Doors, Portals..., Cloud Seven (Brussels)
2025 Will Our Paths Cross On The Surface, Botanic Tower (Brussels)
2024 De Zaak van Gangen, Terrarium (Brussels)
2024 E.A.T., Espace Vanderborght (Brussels)
2024 Passe-partouts, Ravenstein Gallery (Brussels)
2024 Fanzines? Festival, Tour Orion (Montreuil)
2024 Graduation Show 2024, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2024 Printlab, Het Entrepot (Bruges)
2024 FOUR2TEN, Botanic Tower (Brussels)
2024 Artists Print XI, Maison des Arts (Brussels)
2023 Common grounds, STUK (Leuven)
2023 The Ice Machine is Broken, Phare du Kanaal (Brussels)
2023 Bachelor Graduation Exhibition, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2023 Artists Print X, Maison des Arts (Brussels)
2022 PhotoTwens 10e editie (Leuven)
2022 Out of Office‘22, Breedbeeld (Doel)
2022 Fading Lines, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2022 #110 Sten Ceulemans en Amber Dooms, 2M3 (Brussels)
2022 Door de kamer vloog een vlieg, w/ Jaya Pelupessy (Brussels)
2021 Promised Land, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
There is an investigative approach, that is often combined with fiction and parody. In the publication The Bureaucratic Tango of two steps forward and one step back (2023), he plays with the concept of ‘bureaucracy’ in its entirety, using metaphors and typical aesthetic features found in such systems.
Later on he published A Visit to the Arts & History Museum of Brussels (2023). In this publication, his collection of photographs were subtly manipulated through; removing, adding, cutting and fumbling. Multiple layers, became one layer. Photography is a medium that minimizes everything down to one flat base. Any literal layering, depth and scale is compressed into one layer. His practice both embraces and subvertes -the action of conservation.
When this collection of photographs adopted the form of an installation, it was titled From Cellar to the Sun (2024). The choice was made to frame the images very museum-like. The pile of negatives as well as digital files suddenly became a collection of considerable logistical size. During several exhibitions, the picture frames were placed on the floor, against the wall. The act of hanging was not performed. It was an unfinished execution of the museological playbook.
Finer works accompanied the collection on several occasions. Contact prints depicting a walk through the museum, a blank admission ticket, anecdotes from various visits or buckets insinuating a water leak.
His practice revolves around the various museum institutions of Brussels. Critically but playfully, he has been building an archive for years that is characterised by the iconographic elements typical of museology. Topics include; museum politics, curatorship, decolonization, collection management and archives.
Exhibitions & fairs
2025 F21, Fondation A Stichting (Brussels)
2025 Tresholds, Doors, Portals..., Cloud Seven (Brussels)
2025 Will Our Paths Cross On The Surface, Botanic Tower (Brussels)
2024 De Zaak van Gangen, Terrarium (Brussels)
2024 E.A.T., Espace Vanderborght (Brussels)
2024 Passe-partouts, Ravenstein Gallery (Brussels)
2024 Fanzines? Festival, Tour Orion (Montreuil)
2024 Graduation Show 2024, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2024 Printlab, Het Entrepot (Bruges)
2024 FOUR2TEN, Botanic Tower (Brussels)
2024 Artists Print XI, Maison des Arts (Brussels)
2023 Common grounds, STUK (Leuven)
2023 The Ice Machine is Broken, Phare du Kanaal (Brussels)
2023 Bachelor Graduation Exhibition, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2023 Artists Print X, Maison des Arts (Brussels)
2022 PhotoTwens 10e editie (Leuven)
2022 Out of Office‘22, Breedbeeld (Doel)
2022 Fading Lines, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)
2022 #110 Sten Ceulemans en Amber Dooms, 2M3 (Brussels)
2022 Door de kamer vloog een vlieg, w/ Jaya Pelupessy (Brussels)
2021 Promised Land, Luca School of Arts (Brussels)