Zoë Schoonbrood (Tongeren, 1985) grew up in Bilzen. She has Belgian and Greek genes. In 2007 she graduated as a Master in Fine Arts at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp – discipline In Situ³, a direction on the interface between visual arts and architecture, also known as 'site specific' work. During her education, Zoë has done several large projects in Antwerp.
After her studies, Zoë taught art education for five years and represented groups of adolescents and adults. She then started as a curator and subsequently became Art Director at a large art center in Belgium where she offers residencies to artists all over the world.
As an artist herself Zoë is inspired by Berlinde de Bruykere, Marcel Mariën, Jospeh Beuys, Francis Bacon, Yorgos Lanthimos and Leonard Cohen. Her work is about transience, which actually stands for renewal. The skin is key. Our own 'house'. The idea grew to make the viewer feel how change can be experienced through the application of time. Wrinkles. Dimples.
“The trick is to seduce the viewer under the assumption to see what he wants to see. Forms of recognition are avoided. A crude, intense and harsh combination. One that is often seen as ill, ugly and repulsive. However, if our skin is one of our largest organs then why not our most important and treasured asset ? It breathes. It grows. It touches. It scratches. But soft, always soft … even when it stings.”
