About me
Axel Goossens (1987) graduated in 2013 with a Master’s degree in Graphic Design and Multimedia from the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. Fascinated by science, he explores how to bridge the old and the new.
His oeuvre is primarily constructed using paper. An essential material often used by many artists only during initial phases before digitalization. Goossens reverses this traditional process by reconstructing digitized models back into analog paper sculptures.
Artistic Vision and Concept
Ecosystems evolve, and many animal species are threatened or face extinction. Through paper, Goossens explores the fragility of these vulnerable forms of existence. Some species, such as the dodo, have already disappeared from our world. Reimagining these animals through art becomes an act of remembrance and reflection. Each sculpture is unique, rooted in natural history research and shaped by his personal artistic vision. This vision forms an inexhaustible source that continually evolves and changes. It lies at the core of his practice and will be explored throughout his entire career.
From an early age, Goossens has been a collector of natural objects. Shells, stones, feathers and skulls, everything found in nature was carefully preserved. This early impulse to collect later led him to the historical Wunderkammern, also known as cabinets of curiosities. These were spaces in which affluent citizens displayed collections of rare and remarkable objects as a means of engaging with the world in all its complexity.
The desire to create his own cabinet of curiosities is a central driving force in his work. As rare or extinct species are not readily accessible and should never be obtained at the expense of life, Goossens chose to create them himself. In this way, he fills his cabinet with exceptional and sometimes extinct species without capturing or killing them. His sculptures function as contemporary curiosities, situated between science, imagination and ethics.
Paper as a Sustainable Medium
Although paper is inherently fragile, the sculptures of Axel Goossens are created using modern techniques that structurally reinforce the material. The paper is treated and manipulated to become stable, form-retaining and durable.
Through these contemporary processes, the works are resistant to normal environmental factors such as light, humidity and the passage of time, making them suitable for long-term conservation and display. At the same time, the visual and tactile fragility of paper is consciously preserved as an essential element of the artistic concept.
As a result of this careful approach, the sculptures retain not only their aesthetic presence but also their material and artistic value over time. This is of vital importance to collectors, galleries and institutions.
Selected Exhibitions
2025
Earlybird Gallery, Knokke (April 1 – April 30)
2024
HYBRIDEN, Warande Turnhout (June 9 – November 17)
(RE)DISCOVERIES, Amsterdam (March 8 – March 10)
2022
TOUT EST NOUVEAU SOUS LA LUNE, Galerie van Caelenberg, Aalst (Dec 15 – Jan 14, 2023)
Mark Macken Prize, Turnhout (Nov 25 – Dec 21)
STORMLOOP, Galerie Scholiers, Herentals (May 7 – May 21)
2021
IMPRESSED BY PLANTIN, Museum Plantin Moretus, Antwerp (March 10 – March 24)
2020
Project BEHIND THE GLASS, by Jonas Vansteenkiste
2017
PLANET EARTH, Galerie van Caelenberg, Aalst (April 20 – June 10)
REFLECT, Collectiv National, Antwerp (June 4)
DWAALGAST: Het debuut & KOP, Antwerp (August 10 – August 27)
TASTE OF GRINT, Zwijndrecht (December 2 – January 3)
2016
DE INVASIE ANTWERPEN, Antwerp (April 30 – May 1)
KUNST WERK 2, Antwerp (May 11 – Sept 7)
TE COOK STAYS, Hove (May 29)
DE MUSEUMNACHT, Antwerp (August 6)
URBAN PIQ NIQ, Antwerp (October 2 – Jan 31, 2017)
2015
CONSILIUM, Collectiv National, Antwerp (Sept 3 – Sept 12)
KUNST WERK, Antwerp (Oct 30 – Nov 1)
2014
Exhibition at Vrijbroek Park, Mechelen (April 4 – May 23)
2013
Expo C41, Antwerp (March 30 – April 20)
MOOSE IN THE CITY, Antwerp (Nov 14 – Dec 10)
DODO, I Presume?, Collectiv National, Antwerp (Nov 15 – Dec 21)