SERIOUS TOPICS (eponymously titled): group exhibition at de boer gallery, Antwerp, curated by Serious Topics, July 3 – August 22, 2026.

Vernissage: 3 Jul 2026 from 19:00–21:00

de boer and Serious Topics are pleased to present Serious Topics, an exhibition of paintings by thirty American artists. Opening on July 3, the show is self-titled after Serious Topics, a Los Angeles-based artist-run project space whose program is built around painters whose work earns the description.

Each of these artists provokes thought about a subject that matters. Some investigate societal issues via figuration or vestiges thereof; others explore more personal themes via contemplative scenes of places or objects; and still others favor a more abstract approach, focusing on geometry and color. While their methodologies differ, all share a deep commitment to their chosen medium and a close association with the gallery.

Filling a unique role within the Los Angeles art community, Serious Topics operates as a quirky modern-day atelier. Curators Kristin Calabrese and Joshua Aster provide custom handmade surfaces—including traditional panels and Belgian linen canvases—to the artists who show at their gallery, which, in turn, is adjacent to their own studios. Staging 5-7 exhibitions a year, they seek to forge authentic and sincere connections among visitors and artists, often hosting events such as artist talks and drawing parties.

Many of the artists in this exhibition are represented by more than one painting: a larger work plus a smaller one hung on a dedicated salon wall that serves as a nod to Antwerp’s rich history. The salon wall betokens the gallery’s affinity with the collaborative spirit of Antwerp’s early guilds and painting markets, where artists and behind-the-scenes craftspeople such as joiners, goldsmiths, and dealers all united under one communal roof to talk shop and promote their wares.

Channeling the singular verve of Serious Topics vis-à-vis Antwerp’s legacy as a center of painting, this show’s meticulously curated maximalism recalls arrangements seen in typical Belgian paintings such as Cornelis de Baellieur’s “Gallery of a Collector” (c. 1635) or “Allegory of Painting” by Jan Brueghel the Younger (c. 1625-30). Just as those pictures offered insight into European painting at the time, Serious Topics offers visitors an intriguing glimpse into a vital slice of contemporary art in America right now.

Artists Include: Aaron Maier-Carretero, Amy McCormac, Annabel Osberg, Anne Harris, Annie Lapin, Charles Karubian, David Humphrey, Elizabeth Tremante, Heather Brown, Jaqueline Cedar, Jesse Wiedel, Joshua Aster, Julian Rogers, Justine Di Fiore, Kristin Calabrese, Lisa Edelstein, Lucas Reiner, Margarete Hahner, Michael Arata, Michiko Itatani, Michelle Fierro, Mike Reesé, Nancy Evans, Rebecca Campbell, Robert Russell, Salomón Huerta, Shiri Mordechay, Stephen Westfall, Susanna Coffey, and Vanessa Conte.