Driven by a natural and pleasant impulse, Christophe Ghislain, alias GhiChri, has definitely taken the road to the extreme corner of Europe: Portugal. Seduced by its omnipresent granite and magnificent marble, he automatically took up direct carving as well as oil painting on canvas.

Settled in Avô, forebastion of the Serra da Estrela which dominates the region with its superb ancestral presence, he frees himself in his creation from the contemporary indoctrination of Belgian art, an atmosphere for him too suffocating and tendentious and essentially governed by money.

It is here, in this small haven of peace, that Ghichri is currently developing a sculpture garden (see Misterium), which for the moment expresses a simple and, so to speak, traditional plastic language, accessible to any public. Originality is currently not what he is trying to express. At this point, he takes more account of the fact that he is located in a rural area practically devoid of plastic art. He therefore goes through a gradual process of adaptation and trial and error to ensure a gentle and harmonious approach to the region. Precisely because survival is so difficult there, the artist hardly escapes from taking up the old techniques and traditions: painted and sculpted portraits, madonnas, etc.

One could call this the "zero point" after a remote-controlled and digitised Nordic life. It is, however, precisely there that the zenith of a bare consciousness can reside... the obligation to start again from the beginning, to clear a wild corner and to be inspired by small sites where people, sculptures, archaeological remains of the artist's consciousness are erected. Could it be a way to discover his ancestral lives, buried by the dust of time?

And then, having erected sculptures here and there at the Quinta das Tranchas, he is preparing for a next stage of creation that may surprise...

Christophe Ghislain, born 07.02.1964 in Antwerp.

1982-1986 Studied plastic arts, sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp

1983 V.R.I.K.A. Prize

1984 "Nottebohm" prize

1985 "Van Lerius" prize - I.C.C. exhibition, Antwerp

1986 Winner of "Artistieke stichting Marthile-Horlait-Dapsens" - B.B.L. exhibition, Antwerp

1986-1987 Marble carving course, workshop "Nicoli", Carrara Italy

1991 Exhibition "Sabine Wachters Deurle" fine arts, 7-29 Dec.

1992 Exhibition "Sabine Wachters" fine arts, Brussels

1993 Exhibition "Sabine Wachters" fine arts, Knokke

1994-1997 Collaboration with the architectural office "Kahlen & Partner" in Düsseldorf, Berlin, Aachen

1998 Expo "Studio d'arte La Subbia", "Gli artisti nel arredamento", Pietrasanta, It.

1998-2000 Sculpture installation in the garden "Rudolf Peer", Fos di Nuovo, It.

1999-2001 Sculpture installation in the garden "Gallerie Bogniasse", Avignon

2000 Expo "Il Maiale", gallery "La Subbia", Pietrasanta, It.

2002-2003 Production of masks "The jew of Malta" by Christopher Marlow, Peter Zadek production company. Burgtheater Wien

2004 Production of masks and sculptures "The night of the iguana" by P. Zadek. Theather Academy Wien

2005-2006 Production of masks and sculptures "Peer Gynt" by H. Ibsen, stage management P. Zadek, Berliner Ensemble, Berlin

2006 Monumental sculpture: head of Shiva, in Gokarna, Karnattaka, India

2006-2007 Collaboration with "The Christian social service", Calcutta & Basirath orphanages, Bengal, India

2008 Production of paintings, South Morocco, "Merleft", Tiznit

2009-2011 Transformation of an old stone depot into a sculpture garden, Lokeren, Belgium

2011 Installation of sculpture routes in the garden of "Woon en zorgcentrum Nottebohm", Antwerp

2012-2013 Transformation of caves into an art trail: "Percorso interiore" & monumental sculptures in a cliff: "Familia In contemplazione", Proprietà "La Limonaia", Maiori, Amalfi

2014-2015 Decoration, frescoes and sculptures around and in a villa, Gambia

2016-2018 Realization of personal projects, sculptures and paintings, Antwerp

2019-2020 Elaboration of a sculpture garden in Avô, Portugal