Contemporary
At Artodomo, contemporary artists are chosen for the honesty of their work and the strength of their visual language. Each artist brings a different way of looking at the world through colour, form, gesture, or quiet observation; But what connects them is a sincere relationship with the act of making.
Some artists work with bold abstraction and expressive energy, others with geometry, narrative, or carefully constructed imagery. Yet all of them share a commitment to clarity and authenticity in their work. Their paintings and objects are not meant to illustrate ideas, but to stand as complete worlds in themselves.
What interests Artodomo is this moment where an artwork feels alive — where the hand of the artist, their curiosity, and their personal way of seeing become visible. When placed together, these works begin to speak to one another, sometimes quietly, sometimes with tension, but always with a sense of presence.
By bringing these artists together, Artodomo hopes to create a space where visitors can encounter contemporary art in a direct and intuitive way — not through theory or explanation, but through attention, curiosity, and the simple pleasure of looking.
Sven Rayen
Sven Rayen is an Antwerp-based artist and co-founder of Studio Palermo. For over fifteen years he has been known for his refined eye for detail, precision, and balance.
Originally trained as an illustrator, Sven obtained a Master’s degree in Applied Arts in 2002, followed by a teaching degree in 2003. Early in his career he worked as a graphic artist for international brands such as Eastpak and Lee, and created illustrations for several album covers. Drawing has always been at the center of his practice.
In 2009 he began tattooing at Sinsin Tattoo, where he developed the visual language that made him widely recognized today: delicate single-needle lines, subtle shading, and a strong focus on clarity and contrast.
Alongside his tattoo work, Sven has continued to explore drawing and painting. His current body of work centers around geometrical figurines, where precision, balance, and minimal form come together in a calm and distinctive visual universe.
Artodomo is proud to present and represent Sven Rayen’s paintings for the first time, offering a new perspective on an artist whose craft has been shaped by decades of drawing, design, and meticulous line work.
Mia Goovaerts
Mia Goovaerts (°1937) paints a reality we recognize, yet do not always notice ourselves. Through her work, she invites us to look again — to see the quiet beauty that exists in ordinary moments and passing scenes.
Her paintings emerge from a deep sensitivity to what is beautiful and meaningful in life. She observes the world attentively: when waking up, walking, living, and reflecting. Painting becomes her way of translating these experiences into images.
Mia Goovaerts is deeply moved by children, by the humanity of people, and by the cyclical wonder of nature. Her work reflects a continuous search for harmony, tenderness, and the fragile balance between hope, longing, pain, and joy.
For Goovaerts, painting is inseparable from who she is. She believes that without a genuine relationship to what one creates, a painting becomes empty. Her works therefore grow from an intimate connection with her subjects, approaching people and things through empathy and quiet contemplation.
Through subtle imagery and metaphor, her paintings open spaces of reflection, inviting the viewer to pause and see more deeply.
Mia Goovaerts studied at the Heilig Graf Instituut in Turnhout (1958) and later at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp (K.A.S.K.A.), where she trained in advertising and etching techniques. Alongside her artistic practice, she taught decorative drawing and fashion styling in Deurne for more than three decades (1958–1992) and also taught advertising at Sint-Lukas Antwerp.
Her work has been exhibited widely, including at Snyderhuis Antwerp, KBC Torengebouw, Museum Albert van Dyck in Schilde, Elzenveld Antwerp, and Kasteel Cortewalle in Beveren. Her illustrations and artworks have appeared in several publications and poetry collections, and she received recognitions such as the Albert van Dyck Prize (2002) and the European Sappi Print Award (2003).
Today, her paintings remain a poetic reflection on the beauty of life, seen through a deeply personal and attentive gaze.
Arthur Dufoor
Arthur Dufoor (b. 1997) is a Brussels-based painter whose work explores the tension between instinct, emotion, and abstraction.
Trained in classical oil painting, Dufoor initially focused on the human body as a primary form of expression. Over time, his practice evolved into a more abstract visual language built around movement, colour, and gesture. His paintings are marked by intensely coloured shapes and dynamic patterns, where the influence of the Old Masters subtly remains present.
Working on large-scale canvases, Dufoor approaches painting in a radical and intuitive way. His works function almost like pages of a personal diary, translating inner dialogue, daily impressions, and fragments of thoughts into paint. Notes, symbols, and visual rhythms sometimes appear within the compositions, turning the canvas into a space where personal reflection and visual experimentation meet.
His work draws inspiration from diverse traditions, including Italian mannerism, expressionism, and post-modern painting. Within this mixture, Dufoor balances vulnerability and intensity: beneath the stylized figures and energetic surfaces lies a constant search for emotional clarity.
Rather than building his work around theoretical concepts, Dufoor focuses on the physical act of painting itself. Through gesture, repetition, and raw painterly energy, he attempts to translate complex and often inexpressible emotions into a visual language.
For Dufoor, painting becomes a place where personal experience, instinct, and form converge — a direct and honest attempt to give shape to what is otherwise difficult to articulate.
Arthur Dufoor studied painting at LUCA School of Arts in Ghent, where he obtained both his Bachelor (2019) and Master in Fine Arts (2020). He also studied drawing at École des Arts d’Ixelles in Brussels. His work has been shown in galleries and institutions across Belgium and internationally, including exhibitions in Brussels, Ghent, Milan, and Bristol.
He currently lives and works in Brussels, Belgium.
Manu Baeyens
Manu Baeyens is a Belgian artist whose work moves between figuration and abstraction, often hovering in a space where images appear, shift, and dissolve.
His paintings and works on paper are built through an intuitive process. Forms emerge slowly, sometimes resembling figures, animals, or fragments of landscapes, but never fully settling into a fixed meaning. There is a sense of play, but also of precision — as if each work is finding its own balance between control and freedom.
Language, drawing, and thought often come together in his work. Titles, notes, and recurring symbols suggest an ongoing inner dialogue, giving the impression that each piece is part of a larger, continuous world.
Baeyens has been active for decades, with an extensive exhibition history across Belgium, the Netherlands, and beyond. His work is included in collections such as the Van Abbemuseum (Eindhoven), Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen (Rotterdam), and the Frans Masereel Centrum (Kasterlee), as well as in numerous private and institutional collections.
Throughout his practice, he has remained consistent in his approach: working from intuition, staying close to drawing, and allowing each work to develop on its own terms.
At Artodomo, Manu Baeyens represents a contemporary voice that is both playful and grounded, rooted in years of making, yet always open, searching, and in motion.
