Dirk Van Saene: All Nightingales Understand One Another

In All Nightingales Understand One Another, Dirk Van Saene presents a new body of sculptures and paintings in which the human figure once again takes centre stage. His figures are angular and fragile, sometimes strange or awkward, yet remarkably tender. Through gestures, postures and encounters, emotions are given a physical presence without being fully explained.

The exhibition grew from Van Saene’s concern with what he perceives as a growing lack of empathy in the world around him. Rather than addressing this directly, he approaches it through the emotional language that has long characterised his work. Vulnerability, tenderness and human connection quietly surface throughout the exhibition.

The title All Nightingales Understand One Another captures something of this idea: the possibility of understanding one another without everything needing to be put into words. Van Saene deliberately leaves that meaning open, allowing each visitor to form their own relationship with the works.