Introduction

Michaël Aerts creates sculptures, drawings and performances in which the importance of references to the European or global cultural and historical past is pivotal. Equally important is the exploration of the potential of the symbols, the codes, the forms and functions of that very heritage with respect to the arts, the artist, and 21st century man.
Michaël Aerts' monumental sculptures, for instance, are formally based on historical models (the bust, the obelisk, ...) but are often realized in flight case material. In this way, the typical contemporary dimension of mobility is projected onto a traditionally immobile type of sculpture. In his most recent art, Michaël Aerts also includes the theme of 'packaging', in which the packaging symbolizes the temporary concealment of the object for the purpose of moving it from one place to another, from one period to another, from one culture to another.
In an era in which everything has become extremely mobile, where all sorts of codes and systems of meaning that belong to a particular culture or subculture (from purely artistic to social), and which are often focused on stability, are continuously shifting, Michaël Aerts, as an artist, sets out to reflect upon how we are to deal with our rich heritage.

Michaël Aerts’ major one-man shows include 'Please Please Me' in De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam (2009), his solo exhibitions at Deweer Gallery (in 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2014) and his gallery exhibitions in Milan , Dusseldorf and Amsterdam.
His most important group exhibitions include ‘Pandora's Sound Box', Performa 09 in White Box, New York (2009), 'FAKE! '(Stedelijk Park Aalst, 2010), ‘RAW - Lustwarande'11’, Stichting Fundament, Tilburg (2011) and ‘Szenarien über Europa (III)’, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, Germany.