Form of Figuration presents a survey of Roger Remaut’s mature abstract work from 2000–2023, produced after his return to Belgium. These paintings demonstrate the full authority of his practice: a highly refined, tactile abstraction built from layered paint, textures, found objects, and marks that emerge over repeated working and reworking. Surfaces appear scratched, worn, and timeworn, conveying both material depth and a sense of lived experience, while colour, layering, and compositional structure reveal a sophisticated visual rhythm.
The exhibition takes its title from Remaut’s painting Form of Figuration, a work that exemplifies his search for form, structure, and rhythm within fully abstract compositions. Here, “figuration” refers not to representation but to the emergence of order, presence, and dynamic tension from non-figurative elements.
Within this mature body of work, some series carry strong global political undercurrents. The Make Art Not War series, for example, channels social and world tensions through bold layering, distressed surfaces, and compositional rigor, demonstrating that abstraction can carry urgency and engagement without depicting literal events.
Across this period, Remaut paints as a recording instrument — assembling textures, colours, and marks that reflect mood, environment, and unconscious inspiration. Form of Figuration offers an immersive encounter with a fully realized abstract language: formally assured, visually compelling, and socially resonant.
Roger Remaut Full Career Overview
