Sebastiaan Van Doninck is a visual artist, currently living and working in Halle (Antwerp).

Sebastiaan’s artistic drive comes from a deeply rooted fascination for the natural world & for the uncanny. The inability of humankind and his clumsy attempts to protect himself from the wilderness echoes through his drawings and paintings. Be it with gentle, playful humor or via surrealistic poetry in series of cartoon like paintings. Through introverted drawings, dreamy illustrations for picture books or in his growing practice in ceramic sculpture.

In his paintings and drawings, he loves to play with disconnected, anthropomorphic characters in scarred landscapes, searching for a purpose. While the natural world -the surrounding landscape- brings comfort, consolation and a seemingly eternal promise.

Soloshow ‘Post-What!?’, Rufus gallery, 2025, photography: Gert Cornelis

Although the compositions in his visual work are often packed with details, they seldomly feel disruptive. In a chaotic world, his work aims to evoke tranquility without being uncritical. Politics, ecology, and social issues often find their place in his narratives as metaphors.

Sebastiaan is a versatile artist who works in a broad and open sense, not only technically but he is also navigating between (literary) applications and autonomous work as a painter, drawer and ceramist.

EXPO/PERFORMANCE

2026 (upcoming)

19/03 -> 22/03: BADAFF art fair, with Rufus Gallery

14/05 -> 17/05: Ceramic installation for Antwerp Art Weekend, @ Showroom, Sint Lucas Antwerpen, curated by Hans Wuyts, with Tom Volkaert.

2025

18/10 -> 26/10: ‘playgrounds 2’, a group show, curated by Sam Timmerman. With Atak, Bert Huyghe, Ellen Pil, Charles Degeyter, Goele Dewanckel, Eliza Pepermans, Eva Vermieren, Carll Cneut, Maarten Inghels, Brecht Vandenbroucke, Joost Swarte, Martha Verschaffel, Charlotte Dumortier & many others!

May 24th 2025 -> June 22th 2025: Solo show ‘Post-What!?’ @ Rufus Gallery, Gent.

March 1st: Group show ‘Playgrounds’ @ Studio Artoo, Antwerp. Curated by Sam Timmerman. With Arthur Devisscher, Céline Hudréaux, Laurent Impeduglia, Maarten Inghels, Martha Verschaffel, Sarah Yu Zeebroek & many others!

‘Chopped’, crayons on paper, 27/36 cm, 2025.

2024

December 4th 2024 (19h 30): Artist Talk with Barbara De Coninck on publication ‘Walking Drawings’ @ De Groene Waterman, Antwerpen.

November 16 th: Book release + expo ‘Walking Drawings’ (Posture) @ warande Turnhout.

October 23 th: Group show ‘All of us are Rufus’ @ Rufus gallery, Gent (With Eliza Pepermans, Victor Verhelst, Sam Timmerman, Lukas Verstraete, Louise Daneels, Jan Vandeplancke & many others)

June 8th: Group show ‘Bang, Blast, Burst’ @ Rufus gallery, Gent. (With Arthur de Visscher, Indré Svirplyté & others)

Bang, Blast, Burst @ Rufus gallery. Ceramics: ©Louise Daneels

2022

’Illusoir’, group show @blanc Fixe, Drongen. With artists Sam Vanallemeersch, Lukas Verstraete, Sabien Clement, Korneel Detailleur, … (Spring 2022).

2021

Showroom, Sint Lucas Antwerpen: ‘This is where the magic happens’, Sketchbook Group show. With William Ludwig Lutgens, Emma Verhulst, Sadrie Alves, Lucien De Roeck,…

Solo show ‘A cosmonaut, hiding under the sink’, Geert De Weyer Gallery, Antwerpen.

Group Show @Borgerhub ‘Into eternity, the art of giving’, with Cindy Wright, Boy Erik Stappaerts, Rachel Agnew,…

2020

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam: part of the exposition ‘Van Thonet tot Dutch Design’ - 125 jaar wonen in het Stedelijk’ (illustrations ‘Monsterlijke Microben’)

Animation (film) and sketchbooks exhibited at ‘Diep in het bos’ for Villa Verbeelding, Hasselt.

Feniksstraat, Kinderbrouwerij Poperinge, Group show, with Carll Cneut and Kamagurka.

2019

Zin in Zomer: Live drawings, with author Erwin Mortier, Hasselt.

Performance (live drawings with concert) @ Fondation d’enterprise Martell, Cognac, France.

‘FAKE, die ganze wahrheit’ exposition (several illustrations) for Stapferhaus Museum Lenzburg, (awarded European museum of the year 2020), Zwitserland.

2017

Solo show ‘de archipel van Sebastiaan’ at CC ‘de ververij’, curated by Murmuur Ronse

2016

Museum M: ‘de geluksvogels’, Guided tour in the museum.

Fort Napoleon, Oostende. Exposition ‘de geluksvogels’.

Kunsthal Rotterdam: part of the exposition on ‘Jules Verne’

2015

Museum M: Temporary mural ‘Danse Macabre’ and exposition illustrations ‘Magnus’ for the Vesalius exposition.

2014

’Stormopkomst’, CC De warande Turnhout, with Sara Fanelli, Ingrid Godon,…

2013

Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale di Roma, Group show and poster image, ‘Cinderella’.

The New York Times building, group show at Flanders House: ‘Flanders inspires, Flanders intrigues’.

2012

Walt Disney concert hall: projections and animations for the concert ‘Frankenstein!’ by composer HK GRUBER, Los Angeles, USA.

’CoffeeKlatch’ Group show @ Tatjana Pieters Gallery, with Piet Raemdonck, Bue The Warrior,…, curated by Magali Elali (the constant now).

2011

Performance for artist Thomas Grodal @ Middelheim Museum, Antwerp (assistance)

2010

Wallpiece 10 ‘Natuur(studie)boek’ @ Sint Lucas Passage: Group show on Sketchbooks. With Hannelore Van Dijck, Rinus Vande velde, Arpaïs Du Bois, Jan Stremes… Curated by Nikolaas Demoen (Posture editions).