Koen Deprez


Koen Deprez is a Belgian artist, architectural designer and guest lecturer of architecture at KU Leuven. His work is associated with experimental drawing practices, architectural representation, and narrative cartographic methods. In addition to teaching and being visual artist, he is also a curator and exhibition maker.

Early life and education

Deprez studied at the LUCA [School of Arts|Sint-Lukas School of art and Architecture] in Brussels. He completed an internship at the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) in Rotterdam under Rem Koolhaas and in Milan in Alessandro Mendini’s Studio Alchimia. Deprez subsequently performed his military service as a KRO officer in Leopoldsburg.

Academic career

Deprez is a member of the academic staff at KU Leuven, where he teaches architectural design and theory. His pedagogical approach, particularly in relation to representation and narrative methods in architectural education, has been the subject of analysis in architectural scholarship.
He gives similar lectures at the University Ghent and the Saint-Lucasschool Brussels and Ghent.

Research

In 2023, Deprez completed a PhD at KU Leuven titled Apology for Flight: The Use of Prioms as a Narrative Technique within the Oeuvre of Koen Deprez. His PhD thesis was presented at Foundation Verbeke in Kemzeke. The dissertation combines a written study, a series of visual works, and a cartographic inventory outlining the origins and development of his oeuvre. One of the principal components, Shipwreck with Spectators consists of a map, nine globes, and an associated object titled SHIP-WRECK. The materials are intended for viewing with anaglyph glasses and employ color layers to address the relationship between time and memory.

Work

Deprez's work frequently employs drawing, narrative devices, and cartographic structures to explore themes such as memory, temporal processes, and architectural imagination. The conceivable house, a house created on the basis of literature, is an example of this. His projects have been discussed in publications by authors including Hans Theys, Elke Couchez, Christophe Van Gerrewey and Max Borka.
An art critic described Deprez as the enfant terrible of Belgium’s architecture and interior world, and wrote: He is mainly known for his eccentric approach to private and public interiors which seamlessly evolved from a passion for the countryside and the urban public space. The art critic Gilbert Putteman wrote: He approaches private and public interiors in his own eccentric manner, as a result of his passion for landscape and for the urban public space. He is sometimes labelled as an enfant terrible: I consider this to be a compliment.
His work has been exhibited at Zwart Huis in Brussels.

Publications

  • Koen Deprez, Apology for Flight: The Use of Prioms as a Narrative Technique within the Oeuvre of Koen Deprez, KU Leuven, 2023,.
  • E. Couchez, H. Theys, K. Deprez, K. Structure and Event. Center for Architecture, New York, 2014,.
  • C. Van Gerrewey, K. Deprez, "Het Denkbare Huis," in Architectuur België – 25 jaar in 75 projecten, Tielt, Lannoo, 2014,.