Welcome to “From Rust to Light” — a solo exhibition that shines a gentle spotlight on the magically twisted, delightfully neurotic universe of Stéphane Halleux, Belgium’s maestro of the found-object underdog.
Born in 1972 in Chênée, Halleux studied at the prestigious École Supérieure des Arts Saint-Luc in Liège before embarking on a career as a model-maker and colorist in animation But that world of tiny models soon felt too neat, too orderly for someone with such a wonderfully warped imagination.
So he turned to sculpture: gathering scraps, leather, wood, old switches, and metal parts, then assembling them into beings that look like they should hop off their pedestal and start bickering about existential dread—or …
Halleux’s universe is populated with neurotic heroes—machines that sulk, dream, or fuss like eccentric relatives. They are absurd, yet strangely familiar, reminding us of our own quirks. As he puts it: an artist has the right to laugh—so he sculpts and pokes fun at life’s contradictions.
His characters even made it to the big screen: the Oscar-winning short film Mr Hublot was directly inspired by his creations. Director Laurent Witz called Halleux “the true father” of the story. From rusted bolts to glowing personalities, his sculptures prove that humour and poetry can be built from the leftovers of our everyday world.
