Tim Trenson

After a career in the world of animation, I decided a few years ago to focus entirely on painting.

In my work, I seek to create a tension between a playful, cartoon-like visual language and more layered, painterly elements.

For me, drawing is a complex, time-consuming, and autonomous process, much like painting. I build my paintings through drawing, working layer by layer with coarse brushes. The process moves between control and spontaneity—sometimes careful and considered, sometimes impulsive and reckless.

My work exists between abstraction and figuration. Rather than thinking in terms of representation, I am interested in figuration as a way of allowing recognisable elements to emerge within the painting. A body, an interior, or another familiar form may appear, but often only as a suggestion, remaining open to interpretation.

A central question in my practice is one of priority: does colour come before form, or form before colour? Does the figure lead the painting, or does the brushstroke itself become the subject? I am interested in the tension between these possibilities, and in the constant negotiation between presence and absence.

My paintings are energetic and often nervous, carrying a sense of psychological tension. ...

MFA in animation film (1989) from KASK Ghent

Painting (2018) at ABKA Anderlecht

2026

group show @ Res Ars - Brussels

group show @ Sint-Annakasteel “Prijs van de Makers” - Maldegem

duo with Zizi Rincolisky @ Studio 10 - Espace Berthelot - Brussels

2025

group show (competition) @ CC Het Perron - Ieper

group show @ Taleart gallery - Vlierzele

solo @ Huisburg - Tervuren

group show with CAS @ art fair BADAFF - Ghent

2024

group show @ Melissa Ansel Gallery - Brussels

group show @ CAS - Oostende

group show (competition) @ Centrale for Contemporary Art - Brussels

solo @ BCP Art Belge @ Rivoli - Brussels

solo @ Simone @ Chateauvillain, France

solo @ Galerie Van Caelenberg - Aalst

2023

group show @ gallery KBK, Brussels

group show @ Art Mesnil 2023, Mesnil-Eglise

group show @ Res Ars, Brussels

group show @ Melissa Ansel, L'ile d'Yeu, France

group show @ (competition) gemeente Sint Pieters Woluwe - Kunstprijs 2023 - honorable mention

2022

group show @ (competition) CC Zwaneberg, Heist-op-den-Berg

group show @ Melissa Ansel Gallery, Brussels

group show @ (competition) Paardenstallen, Kortrijk - honorable mention

group show @ Galerie Dessers, Hasselt

group show @ (competition) CC De Schakel, Waregem

2021

solo @ Gallery KBK Brussels, Brussels

group show @ (competition) CC Het Perron, Ieper

...