Artists

Léon Spilliaert

Press release

David Zwirner is pleased to present an exhibition of work by Belgian artist Léon Spilliaert (1881–1946) in collaboration with Agnews, Brussels, which is on view on the second floor of the gallery’s location in Paris. Best known for his works on paper, Spilliaert developed a unique vision characterized by its psychological intensity and aura of mystery over nearly fifty years.

This presentation follows a major exhibition in France at the Musée d’Orsay in 2020–2021, as well as an acclaimed exhibition at David Zwirner New York in 2025. The exhibition, such as in New York, is curated by Dr. Noémie Goldman, specialist of nineteenth-century Belgian art and director of Agnews, Brussels. Spilliaert’s distinctive and highly enigmatic compositions reveal myriad inspirations—ranging from symbolist literature to the seaside city of Ostend, Belgium. Rarely working from a dedicated studio, and suffering from insomnia, Spilliaert skillfully mixed watercolor, gouache, pastel, ink, wash, colored pencil, and more on portable supports of paper, using various techniques to produce uniquely resplendent surfaces. Across a range of subject matter, including self-portraits, nocturnal coastal landscapes, and solitary figures in dreamlike spaces, Spilliaert’s compositions convey a sense of melancholy and stillness influenced by his life in Ostend. He has been highly influential to subsequent generations of artists—most notably, Luc Tuymans (b. 1958)—who have observed the universal qualities in Spilliaert’s depictions of the human condition.