Tom Herck is a Belgian conceptual multidisciplinary artist. He is best known for his unconventional public art installations. Tom grew up in a creative environment, his father is an artist. He was raised by his single mother in a council estate. Later in his mid and late 20’s he had a leading role in the underground football culture, arranging “fight club” kind of activities in streets and forests. Raised in a low-income neighborhood and later working as a social assistant with troubled youth and later in a refugee center we can notice that societal issues are important in his art. Attracted to ‘outsider’ cultures Tom was a decade active in the illegal graffiti scene, which formed his artistic foundation. This “street” iconography we can still find in some of his works today.

His grandfather’s identity is unknown and his grandmother was a “madam”(female pimp) owning some brothels in Tom’s hometown. She committed suicide when Tom’s mother Nicole was expecting him. Nicole grew up as a street kid. She was raised by nuns and worked from her 13 years old in a hospital till her death at age 62 (2017). When Nicole was diagnosed with the progressive nervous system disease ALS at the age of 62, one month before her retirement, Tom created Last Words (2019), a mural to honor her, resonating her last words. Nicole will always be remembered in the hospital where she worked all her life.

In search of his identity Tom started to travel all over the world. In the beginning he combined his travels with graffiti actions around Europe, painting metro’s and trains all over the continent. Highly motivated though almost broke, Tom was forced to sleep in trains and sometimes on the street. One of his highlights in this period was going to New York to paint the subway system. Due to some legal issues, he stopped his illegal activities and started to focus on murals, later the desire grew to evolve to a more sophisticated art form. The love for adventurous projects in a monumental form created in public space, is his highest priority and oxygen. This straight forward installations, where multiple times national and international news and lead to discussions and dialogues.

In 2013 Tom transformed an old fast food building into a modern church, a natural process generating his first large scale installation. Three years later he made headlines again with ‘The Decline’, a 60-ton house of cards construction revealing a selection of historical figures, world leaders and dictators. The mayor of Sint-Truiden censored the work by covering the Hitler card with a plastic banner. The public went wild and ripped it off at night. The pressure of the public opinion rose heavily and Herck did not want to compromise with the demands of the mayor. In the end, they’ve kept the installation in his true form, respecting the freedom of speech of the artist. One year later when the work got more recognition, they even put permanent lighting on it so people could also enjoy the work at night. In 2018 the decline installation won an international price. In 2023 it was shown on Times Square in New-York on a 2000 square meter bill board.

Religion -Christianity in particular- plays an important role in the life of the artist. Combining traditional and contemporary iconography and materials, the artist expands on their mystical properties by synthesizing new symbols with a very personal iconography. This enables him to tackle universal themes like life and death, ‘vanitas’, transformation and religion. He creates perspectives that challenge ‘universal’ views. The artist’s oeuvre is a stark reminder of humanity’s paradoxical core contradiction.

With his Holy Cow (2017) Herck kicked up a storm and reached the international press by suspending a crucified cow in a church. Protesters tried to burn down the chapel that hosted part of the exhibition. Far right organisations and a priest were arrested thereafter.

In recent years Herck has taken his art to an international level. In 2018 the artist coordinated on a tour to London, yachting the river Thames with his sailing art installation Eurovision. The artist marked the project’s final haven by hanging one of the yacht’s life buoys on the gates of Buckingham palace.

His raw and pure roots remain visible in his work, continuously influencing his professional development as a contemporary artist. Herck increasingly attaches importance to the use of ideas and concepts in his oeuvre using sharp contrasts, both in color and in topic. Herck is the second Belgian artist ever to burn a big installation on the famous Burning man festival The Wall (2019) for Burning Man festival Nevada USA. A 9 meter high piñata in front of a 5 meter wall exploring both sides of Trump’s wall conflict.

The artist always attempts to create room for an open discussion, avoiding taking either a conservative or a progressive stand. His main role being an artist, not an activist, Tom tries to remain open for both sides of the political spectrum.
TH:“For me, the most important thing is the realisation and creation of my concept. The medium is not my biggest interest. I am fascinated by monumental, almost impossible to realise projects. I like to jump into unknown waters with a nothing to lose mindset. Works in the public space that are impactful and that lead to a discussion/dialogue.”

Anchored in the present, Tom Herck’s art stimulates for the challenging times ahead. Social topics are the cornerstone of this Belgian artist’s oeuvre. Inspired by vanity, history, the rise and decline of empires.
Symbols and metaphors, exploring themes of extinction, evolution, the passage of time and the cyclical nature of history.

Biography by Lara Van Oudernaarde.

SELECTED SHOWS AND EXHIBITIONS:

2023 OWRTW / European Parliament - Brussels, BE / solo
2023 FORU TRIA / Kasteel van Oud-Rekem- Oud-Rekem, BE / group
2023 Decay Works / Kasteel van Ordingen - Ordingen, BE / solo
2022 De Sokkel / SMAK - Gent, BE / group
2022 Strange Days / Galerie Papillon - Ostend, BE / group
2022 It's Time To Meet Them / Julianuscomplex - Tongeren, BE / group
2022 Hidden Odyssey / La Butte aux Bois - Lanaken, BE / group
2021 Censuur / Nationaal museum van de speelkaart - Turnhout, BE / group
2021 Halleluja / Triamant - Bree, BE / group
2021 Explorer / La Butte aux Bois - Lanaken, BE / solo
2020 Beestig / Stadsfestival Damme - Damme, BE / group
2020 Me myself and I / Black Swan Gallery - Bruges, BE / group
2020 Crucifixions / PAK, Platform voor Actuele Kunsten - Gistel, BE / group
2020 La Messe Des Artistes /  L’église de Saint Pierre d’Arène  - Nice , FR / group
2020 Vanitas humanum est / CAS - Ostend, BE / group
2020 NEKTAR / Quartier Blue - Hasselt, BE / group
2019 Burning man / Black rock city - Nevada, USA /solo project
2019 Hommage à Auguste Renoir / Château Grimaldi - Cagnes-Sur-Mer, FR / group
2019 Biennale van België III / Floraliënhal - Ghent, BE / group
2019 The Crystal Ship / Casino Kursaal fountains - Ostend, BE / group
2019 Chambres Separees / PAK, Platform voor Actuele Kunsten - Gistel, BE / group
2019 Stormloop / De Linnenfabriek - Herentals, BE / group
2019 NEKTAR / Quartier Blue - Hasselt, BE / group
2019 Last Words / St-Trudo Hospitaal - Sint-Truiden, BE / Solo
2018 C-Takt / C-Mine - Genk, BE / duo
2018 De impact van het hoogst onwaarschijnlijke deel 2 evolutie (Triënnale Brugge) / Black Swan Gallery - Bruges, BE / group
2018 ReBirth / PAK, Platform voor Actuele Kunsten - Ostend, BE / group
2018 Portraits / Atelier 14 Zero Muzeum - Brussels, BE / group
2018 Printemps Sauvage / Armée des Alpes - Nice, FR / group
2018 Eurovision / Thames river / Buckingham palace - London, UK / solo project
2018 Behind closed doors / PAK, Platform voor Actuele Kunsten - Gistel, BE / group
2018 Art Truc Troc / Palais de Beaux-Arts/ Bozar - Brussels, BE / group
2017 Artefactory LABO / De Drukkerij - Leuven, BE / group
2017 LaBel Valette / Chapel - Montargis, FR / group
2017 Missing / Gasthuiskapel - Borgloon, BE / solo
2017 Holy Cow / Sint-Jan-de-Doperkerk - Kuttekoven, BE / solo
2017 Sacred works / Velose gallery - Bali, IND / solo
2016 Mine d'Art / L'ecole de musique - Blanzy, FR / group
2016 MDA Ex-Situ / Galeries Lafayette - Chalon-sur-Saone, FR / group
2016 Het verval / Museum Vlaamse Minderbroeders - Sint-Truiden, BE / solo
2016 Brussels gardens / Herkenrodehoeve - Opheers, BE / group
2016 Decay Works / Atelier Linesse - Hasselt, BE / solo
2015 Amok / De chocoladefabriek - Tongeren, BE / group
2015 Beste buren / Original Dampkring Gallery - Amsterdam, NL / group
2015 One Armed Man / Oude Beurs - Antwerp,BE / group
2015 Art 17 / OT301 - Amsterdam, NL / group
2015 Groupe Atlantis / Carros - Nice, FR / group
2014 Rubia collective / Dreambuilding - Antwerp, BE / group
2014 Atelier C / Museum M - Leuven, BE / group
2014 Biennale de l'UMAM / Château Grimaldi - Cagnes-Sur-Mer, FR / group
2014 (Nun) Fiction / CC De Bogaard - Sint-Truiden, BE / solo
2014 Independent Arts Festival / Stedelijk Musea - Sint-Niklaas, BE / group
2014 Exhi-B / Les Jeux d'Hiver - Brussels, BE / group

AWARDS/NOMINATIONS:

2018 Corporated Art Awards - European Parlement, BE / Special award for “A monumental work of art made of its core-business product”
2016 BLOOOM Award  by Warsteiner - Cologne, DE / Nominated
2014 Atelier C / Museum M - Leuven, BE / Laureate
2014 Biennale de l'UMAM / Château Grimaldi - Cagnes-Sur-Mer, FR / Honorable mention