The Amazon. The endless wash of the river. The musty scent of humidity and sun. The sting of insects and heat. Shadow and leaves. Seclusion. Space. The reflections of place, of oneself, in paint, in time.

In August of 2019 Verkaeren entered an isolated region of Colombia. He went there to paint within the green bars of the jungle. To walk, again and again, the path that somehow crosses the distance between a wilderness located around the bend of the Earth and the one that is right here, within each of us.

Joseph Puglisi joined the expedition to document the journey. His photos and films that are shown here reveal the process and the struggle of the artist.

‘Nils Verkaeren is an (un) contemporary open-air artist , who paints the immediate sensations, experiences and perceptions of the landscape in situ in large formats. At a time when realistic painters have all become photo painters, this ‘retour a la nature’ is an important break with the conventions of painting today.’ - Jeroen Laureyns