Biography
Stefaan Rits (°Roeselare, 1984) is a Belgian visual artist and writer, rooted in the clay soil of West Flanders, with his mind in the archives and his heart in the story.
His work moves between memory and actuality, between the personal and the universal. He does not seek spectacle but meaning – in the quiet, the decayed, the nearly forgotten. What emerges on his canvas are not illustrations of the past, but soulful reconstructions: paintings as silent witnesses, slowly built up in layers, like sediment of time and experience.
Rits often starts from archived stories, vintage photographs, literary sources, oral testimonies, and folk tales. He does not see the image as an endpoint, but as a vessel of history that demands to be retold – not loudly, but insistently. Each painting seems an attempt to capture that which is slipping out of sight: a glance, a gesture, a shadow on a wall.
From his studio in Houthulst, a place surrounded by fields and traces of a heavy past, he builds an oeuvre that poses questions about identity, transience, and human connection. His paintings breathe silence, but are never distant. On the contrary, they invite you to come closer, to grow quiet, to listen to the echo of lives that came before – or that exist beside us, unnoticed.
Stefaan Rits resists the fleetingness of trends and chooses the depth of research and artistic expression. His visual language is layered, tactile, and heartfelt – a blend of brushwork, patina, and poetry. Art as an anchor in a world that spins ever faster; a reminder that beauty can also live in fragility.
His work is carried by a profound respect for the human story. Whether it's a forgotten craft, a child in a faded photograph, or a soldier without a gravestone, Rits gives them a place on canvas – not as heroes, but as people. In that sense, his work is not only art, but also a form of listening. A form of keeping.
Artistic Path – Selected Exhibitions
New Phase – 2025
“Between Time and Story” – the narrative of return
After an intense period of entrepreneurship and inner renewal, Stefaan Rits has returned to working full-time as an artist since 2025. His current focus lies in merging visual and literary expression, with a strong emphasis on heritage, identity, and the layers of time.
He is presently working on a new series and preparing for public presentations and open studio events. This phase marks the beginning of a clear artistic path: visualizing stories that reflect, revisit, and connect.
Orientation Phase – 2022–2025
A search for identity and direction
After years in the business world, which took a toll on his creative energy, Rits deliberately chose in 2022 to enter a period of introspection and artistic exploration.
This phase was not about building a body of work but rather about rediscovering his own voice and visual language. In 2023, after a serious car accident, the recovery period unexpectedly turned into a time of profound reflection and preparation for his return to the art world.
- 2022 — Day of Craftsmanship, Studio Brikat, Staden (BE)
Development and Experimental Phase – 2012–2022
A decade of parallel activity and expressive experimentation
While running businesses in the interior sector, Stefaan Rits remained sporadically active as an artist. He participated in selected exhibitions by invitation and began experimenting with poetry and literary performances — initiatives that would later shape his new artistic direction.
- 2019 — H&T Lifestyle Fair, Roeselare Expo, Roeselare (BE)
- 2016 — Artists Next Door, Studio Brikat, Staden (BE)
- 2015 — Heritage Day, in collaboration with Art-Illustria, Moorslede (BE)
- 2015 — Art Route Moorslede, Studio Tine Mestdag, Moorslede (BE)
- 2014 — Lowie Bursts at the Seams, Art-Illustria, Veurne (BE)
- 2013 — Art Gastronomy, Art-Illustria, Veurne (BE)
- 2012 — Cocoon, Brussels Expo, Brussels (BE)
- 2012 — A.CityLife, Antwerp Expo, Antwerp (BE)