New Image Gallery to host Belgian artist Jonas Vansteenkiste

Jonas Vansteenkiste | September 21–27, 2026

Jonas Vansteenkiste’s practice explores sculpture architecture as a metaphor for the human condition, Investigating how built environments shape social behavior and community dynamics. His ongoing project, Hostile Architecture, examines urban elements that influence, control, or exclude public interaction, ranging from anti-homeless structures to barriers in everyday spaces, and transforms them into sculptural and photographic work that encourages reflection and dialogue. This critical approach, blending conceptual rigor with participatory sensibilities, resonates deeply with New Image Gallery’s vision of socially engaged contemporary art.

In addition to the exhibition at New Image Gallery, Jonas will conduct a workshop titled Draw Me A House. This workshop will invite students and community members to imagine and draw their visions of home, exploring ideas of personal space, inclusion, and belonging. The workshop aligns with New Image Gallery’s educational mission, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and engagement among student and community members while providing a reflective counterpoint to the Hostile Architecture Series.

Jonas is a Belgian visual artist, curator, and Head of the Ceramics Department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam, living and working between Kortrijk (Belgium) and Amsterdam (The Netherlands). 

For more information on the artist, visit: www.jonasvansteenkiste.com