Bio

Fine artist Vera Louisa Paula Cauwenberghs (she signs her works with first name and middle name initials: Vera L. P.) was born in Mechelen and lives in Wommersom, a borough of Linter (Flemish Brabant). She has been active as a painter since 2008 and exhibits at home and abroad (see "exhibitions").
She is self-taught and particularly inspired by the works of the Impressionists.

Vision

The current paradigm in art has been the same for decades, but paradigms can shift. Vera Cauwenberghs' work falls outside the current paradigm that emphasizes bizarre and/or somber elements in art. The authenticity of Vera Cauwenberghs' works lies largely in the fact that the artist disregards the current paradigm. She believes there is a great need for art that is uplifting, art as an antidote to doom and gloom. She wants to take the viewer into an experience of color. Color is something you don't just see; color is something you experience. It affects you, even if you don't realize it. As we mature, color seems to disappear from our lives. Color is often seen as something childlike. But if you look at nature, of which humans are a part, you will see that it is brimming with color. It is the (adult) people who make their surroundings colorless and gray. However, just because humans are a part of nature and not outside of it, color is essential to human well-being. When we banish color from our lives, we banish life itself.

Humans do not come into the world as tabula rasa. The human brain is programmed, which makes us viable. An important property of our brain is that we organize impulses. This allows us to make sense of the world around us. When we emphasize the absurd in art, we create a conflict that causes inner turmoil. We can give a rational explanation and praise ourselves for our "intelligence," but we cannot change our biology. This artist's work takes into account the needs of our humanity. Beauty is almost a taboo in today's art paradigm. But that too is pre-programmed in our brains. Just as we can smell the difference between something that smells very unpleasant and something that smells nice, we can also tell the difference between the monstrous and the shapely, between beautiful and ugly. Obviously, this is a sliding scale and there may be disagreements about what is the most beautiful or the ugliest. But the point is that harmony calms people. Harmony and beauty go together and are non-negligible building blocks for our well-being.

There is no such thing as "not communicating." Even if people do not move, do not speak, etc..., they still communicate (for example, they communicate that they want to be left alone). Every painting is a form of communication. Strictly speaking, then, every painting conveys a message. Whether that message moves the viewer or not is another matter. The message can be very subtle and yet touch people to the depths of their being. On the other hand, an emphatic message can leave people completely cold.

Vera Cauwenberghs' work includes subjects such as: urbex, graffiti, steampunk, yarnbombing, as well as fauna and flora. The diversity reflects that of life itself. Urbex and urban subjects involve the unrestrained search for interesting creations by people. Displaying fauna and flora in all its unparalleled brilliant colors and forms, perhaps makes people realize that it is worth learning to use them more wisely. So a natural landscape or a painting of animals that are rare, for example, is not just a "pretty picture," but rather a wake-up call.

In summary, Vera Cauwenberghs wants to bring a subtle wake-up call through the creation of a realistic, colorful harmony.