Institute of Contemporary Art Miami ICA Miami

With a practice rooted in observation and critical analysis, Aglaé Bassens creates alluring and poignant depictions of everyday life. “Aglaé Bassens: Emptiful” is the debut solo museum presentation for the Brooklyn-based painter. In these recent works, Bassens draws from her experience of becoming a new parent, using the opportunity to take on the duality of life’s passage—love and grief, fulfillment and apprehension.

Each painting is presented from the artist’s perspective and prominently features tender and meditative moments that reflect on intimacy, shared experience, and memory. The artist says, “I like to paint images that are sincere and particular, yet could belong in anyone’s photo album, using the everyday as a vehicle for collective emotion. For ‘Emptiful’ I have painted scenes from my life as well as pictures found online: they could be my memories or yours, and the context could be celebratory or solemn.”

Aglaé Bassens (b. 1986, Mons, Belgium) received a BFA from the Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University (2007) and an MFA in painting from the Slade School of Fine Art, University College London (2011). Bassens’s works can be found in the permanent collections of ICA Miami and Colección SOLO, Madrid.

“Aglaé Bassens: Emptiful” is organized by ICA Miami, and curated by Alex Gartenfeld, Irma and Norman Braman Artistic Director, and Amanda Morgan, Assistant Curator, Exhibitions and Publications.