Conrad Willems

Conrad Willems (b. 1983, Ostend, Belgium) is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans drawing, sculpture, and performance. Grounded in the principles of geometry, repetition, and modularity, his work develops a distinct visual language that bridges architecture, play, and the sculptural gesture.

Willems’ path is shaped by a lifelong fascination with movement and construction. Trained in both ballet and tango, his relationship to space is deeply embodied — a sensitivity that translates into the physicality of his sculptural work. His installations, often constructed live in semi-choreographed performances, transform the act of building into a kind of dance. Here, sculpture becomes action, and form emerges from gesture.

In his drawings, Willems repeats simple forms by hand, without preliminary sketches or tools. Over time, pattern gives way to deviation: each iteration slightly shifts, creating organic irregularities that reveal the process itself. In more recent works, layers of shapes overlap and blur, creating dense visual tapestries that oscillate between control and improvisation.

This same approach extends to his sculptures. Inspired by the iconic Fröbel building blocks, he reimagines these modular forms in noble materials such as Belgian fossil, travertine or Calacatta Oro marble. His constructions evoke ancient architectures while remaining fully contemporary — dismountable, ephemeral, and open-ended. What matters is not the monument, but the act: the balance found in motion, the intelligence of the hand at play.

Willems’ practice speaks to a deeper inquiry into the act of making: the legacy of the builder, the role of the body, and the fundamental importance of play in both artistic creation and human development.

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