Dominique Théâte (°1968, Liège, BE) is a Belgian artist who lives and works in Vielsalm (BE).  Throughout his work, Dominique Théâte creates a delicate balance between dreams and reality, both portraying real life and idealizing his desires. Dominique Théâte is actually part of the group of artists represented by the renowned gallery “christian berst art brut”, based in Paris (FR).  Art Brut describes art made “outside” of official cultural institutions, by self-taught artists often expressing brilliant and strange fantasy worlds and extreme mental states. In the mid-1980s, Dominique Théâte intended to enter the “Beaux-Arts” Academy based in Liège (BE) to study visual arts. Suddenly, on an autumn day in 1987, his life changed drastically due to a terrible motorcycle accident. Coma, hospitalization, rehabilitation, reeducation, reintegration: there seemed no hope, when, against all odds he learned to walk, talk, draw, close to a miracle. In 2001 Dominique Théâte joined the painting workshops organized by “S Grand Atelier”, a remarkable creative space for mentally challenged artists, located in Vielsalm (BE). The « S Grand Atelier » has been organizing visual art and workshops for persons with physical and mental handicaps over the past twenty years. The works produced by the artists are distributed through exhibitions, publications, concerts or shows. Alone, in a group or duo according to the projects proposed by the director Anne-Françoise Rouche, Dominique Théâte continues to develop his artistic practice at the « S Grand Atelier » up to five days a week. His work has been shown in an important number of exhibitions both in Belgium and abroad to name but a few: « Visions singulières« , Palais des Beaux-Arts, 2005, Brussels (BE), group show; “Art Brut/Bande Dessinée”, galerie Rizomi, 2012, Turin (IT), group exhibition; “L’Art Brut d’aujourd’hui”, Cornette Saint Cyr, 2016, Brussels (BE), group show and “In the mood of love”, gallery “christian berst art brut”, 2017, Paris (FR), solo show. His work has also joined various important private and public collections such as “abcd/Bruno Decharme”, Paris (FR), “Museum Outsider Art “, Randers (DK), “Madmuseum”, Liège (BE), “Museum of Everything”, London (UK), the collection Antoine de Galbert, Paris (FR) and “Art et Marges museum”, Brussels, (BE).

About this artist