Maartje Claes
°1999, Belgium
Maartje Claes is a Brussels-based visual artist, writer, and performer. Her artistic practice extends beyond visual arts to include a unique approach of exchanging letters with her ever-changing environment. Through these letters, she offers insight into the joys and challenges of maintaining an artistic practice, fostering an intimate dialogue between artist, space, and audience. Her thesis, Terug Naar Afzender [Return To Sender], received the Thesis Prize 2023 from LUCA School of Arts in Ghent. Following collaborations with Centralbanken and Galleri Memphis in Oslo, Maartje continues to engage in collaborative projects in Belgium. She envisions an exhibition space akin to a Merz-like entity — a living organism, an ongoing conversation, and an archive of unfinished thoughts.