Group exhibition: ‘Permanent Apocalypse’ with works by Bram Kinsbergen at Backspace, Antwerp Art Weekend
This exhibition takes the ‘Apocalypse’ as its central point of inquiry. We are living in an era where the end of the world has been disproportionately announced, time and time again. In this spirit, a clear tendency has emerged within contemporary art: a move to question the nature of the apocalypse itself, its predecessors, and its lingering results—the so-called fallout.
The artists brought together for this exhibition each operate with a profound existential force. Together, they challenge the traditional imagery of the end, extrapolating the monstrous invasions of religious texts and examining the apocalypse as a slow, environmental death. By observing these loud and quiet catastrophes, the works redefine what it means to live in the shadow of an ending that is already underway.
Participating artists: Loan Verbanck, Bram Kinsbergen, Bram Vanderbeke, Frédéric Pels, and Tom Volkaert.
Opening
Saturday, May 14, 2026, 2–10 pm
Backspace
IJzerlaan 27
2060 Antwerp, Belgium
Backspaceantwerp@gmail.com
@backspace_antwerp
For previews or inquiries
Backspaceantwerp@gmail.com
About Backspace:
Backspace is an artist-run space co-directed by Ralph Leeten and Pàpoo Thibau. Its program is dedicated to the exploration of conceptual movements within a global contemporary discourse. Guided by a decidedly bottom-up, artist-driven methodology, the curatorial premise of every exhibition is rooted in the personal artistic research of specific artists, designers, or collectives. This research can manifest in a material, conceptual, or formal sense.
In this way, Backspace functions as a strategic 'backdoor' to the traditional gallery apparatus—subverting conventional hierarchies while sustaining a dynamic dialogue with the commercial field. By utilizing the conventional system to facilitate a more direct, short-chain ecosystem, we empower contemporary makers to claim autonomy and agency over their practice. Bridging local networks with international tendencies, the space provides an incubator for artistic research and avant-garde expression.
