In July and August 2022, Nils Verkaeren stayed in Colombia, where he worked on thirteen large paintings in his 'open-air studio' - on top of mountains, along rivers, in open plains, in the jungle. It was the third time he returned to South America, where he was once again captivated by the compelling landscape and the three mountains in eastern Colombia, the Cerros de Mavicuri. In addition, a documentary has been made about this project accompanied by musician Dag Taeldeman.

For Nils Verkaeren, a studio is not the ideal working place: as an 'outdoor' artist, he prefers to be in direct contact with nature. Nature - always changing, always in motion - fascinates him: he tries to capture the energy of the environment in large-format paintings and on small panels.

Nils Verkaeren does not paint what he sees, he experiences what he paints. This creative process creates a certain - healthy - tension in the artist, a restlessness that gives his paintings a solid dose of dynamism - the image is never static but, like nature, always in motion. Even literally: Nils Verkaeren sets off with canvas and paint, right across the landscape, up to the peaks of the mountains on which he paints. Thus, the artist constantly moves between canvas and reality, and there is not only a dialogue with nature, but also a certain fusion - a unification with nature, in optima forma.