Nicolas De Kerchove

I'm a Belgian painter living by the sea near Barcelona. I sign my canvases Mazy, the name of the village where I grew up.

I work in oil and acrylic, and two subjects keep pulling me back. The first is water. I live beside the Mediterranean and I love it; its colour calms me, and I keep trying to put that on canvas: a kayak seen from above, the harbours of the Costa Brava, light on the open sea. The second is the old masters. I borrow their scenes (Bruegel's Tower of Babel, Delacroix's Liberty, a Flemish country lane) and move them into our century, with rising seas, drones and a city skyline on the horizon. It is my way of talking about climate and politics without giving a lecture.

A 22-month journey around the world, from Brazil and New Zealand to Nepal, Afghanistan and Cambodia, left me with a taste for strong colour and with places I still paint today.

Every original is one of a kind. If a painting speaks to you, write to me and I'll gladly tell you its story.

Brujas, Espai Maragall, Gavà, Spain, 2025
Espai Maragall, Gavà, Spain, 2024
Bibilioteca Josep Soler Vidal, Spain, 2024
Centre communal Gembloux, Belgium, 2022
Imprfcto Barcelona, Spain 2017