About Olivier

Internationally award-winning, Olivier Lamboray (1968) is a Belgian Surrealist painter who currently lives in Germany. He has been painting since 1992 and has had many successful exhibitions in Belgium, USA, Monaco, Australia, Italy, England, Germany, France, Thailand, The Netherlands, Indonesia, and Guinea.

Painting is my journey and it really defines who I am.

Surrealism is at the heart of Belgian culture and since a very young age, I have been fascinated by the magical feeling of the surreal dream.
I have been painting for the last 30 years and have traveled the world for many years, living mostly in isolated places, from the Himalayan range to an almost deserted island in the Andaman Sea.

Often these were places where time seemed to have stopped and where I could only face my inner self and connect my vision and thoughts inwards to the vital questions. A riddle to solve to find meaning. A path full of experiences, that have progressively shaped my goals and my vision of life but also myself. An intricate maze through the darkness of the mind… And it paved the way to brighten the rest of my life.

Over the years, I have developed a very personal style, classical but inviting and full of surprises. It is always positive, nostalgic at times but full of love. Stories from my heart. It pictures a world where I feel really good, where the sky is always blue, where I forget about the reality and the roughness of this world and the gravity that drags us down. I like to levitate elements, to mix things, to romance my stories, to embrace Love like a half-hidden, half-perceived secret. The settings become half-present and half-imaginary, appearing and disappearing, reflecting the impermanence of life and the groundless ground of reality. Is it only a dream, a thought, or a mental construction? Addressing different levels of perception, my style highlights the importance of the spectator and his role in the understanding of this world. Evaporating elements or bricks on some of the walls allow to see through the present and take people to what seems to be another time in space. The evolution of the place itself, from the origin of life to the present moment. Same place, different time. Do they superpose? Would they still exist if we were to travel to another dimension of time/space momentum? What is our role in this perception? Is it just a personal construction, and can we transcend this level to another, and reach deeper layers of Life itself? Seeing through the curtain of reality sends me to other times in space and past stories. The impact of the leftover energy and the self-perpetuating cycles. This brings up feelings that we cannot always understand, those “déjà vu” feelings that we feel deep inside but do not know where they come from or when. The infinity of the soul. The imprints of our actions floating in the universe.

I like to wander on this path, to open gigantic clocks like vortexes and travel to other dimensions, to discover other wonders, way down inside me. There is this deep feeling that it is just there, at the tip of my finger. This amazing sensation of seeing these dreamy appearances, creations of the mind, and being able to make them come to life through my hand. The energy of a thought materializing into a real thing, down here, on Earth, in my studio, on my canvas is incredible. Creating. From Ethereal to Real. The pure freedom of creation, its infinite vastness. Bringing mysteries from somewhere far away in space and being able to present right in front of our eyes is magic. It is all there, inside me, inside us. We just need to deepen ourselves to experience the beauty of Life itself, through Eternity.

While Love is the main locomotive in my work, I keep my research centered around the notion of time, its impermanence, our place in the universe, outer space, its wonders and secrets.
Every painting leads me closer to who I really am.

Whaoaaw what a journey. It’s Amazing!

• Venice Biennale of Art 2022- European Cultural Center Exhibition “Time, Space and Existence”. 23 April 2022-27, November 2022. Palazzo Mora, Venice, Italy
• XIVth Florence Biennale 2023, Italy, 21-29 October 2023
• Solo Exhibition at Musée d’Art, Hôtel Guoin, Tours, France, from 29th March 2023 till 28th August 2023
• Amsterdam International Art Fair, August 18th & 19th 2023
• Institute Camões, Maputo, Mozambique – Postponed, date to be confirmed

Permanent Exhibitions

• Permanent Exhibitor at Mahlstedt Gallery,New-York, U.S.A.
• Permanent online exhibitor at Saatchi Gallery , London, UK
• Permanent exhibition of reproductions at Restaurant Le Troisieme Acte, Quartier Sablon, Brussels, Belgium

• Venice Biennale of Art 2022 Exhibitor
• Interview at the Euro Space Center about my work/vision and connection to Space, presented at the Belgian Pavillon during the “Expo Dubai 2021” (Universal Exhibition). Dubai-United Arab Emirates. Watch the interview here
• “Grand Prize” at Gemlucart Exhibition, Monaco, Oct 2018
• Invited by the Diplomatic Bureau of Belgium to represent Belgian Art at King’s Birthday Celebration – Conakry, Guinea (Nov-2017)
• “Focus Prize” at Gemlucart Exhibition, Monaco, Oct 2017
• 1er Prix du Jury at 9ème Salon de Peinture RankArt – France (Feb-2017)
• “Prix du Public” Artempo Exibition-France (Feb-2017)
• “Galerie Thuillier” Prize recieved at the Arts & Lettres de France exhibition (Nov-2016)
• “Creativity Award” at the 50ème Salon d’Automne de Peinture de Muret-France (Nov 2016)
• Front Cover of ArtQuench Magazine Issue Two, Los Angeles, USA, 2015
• Honnor Guest at Les 111 des Arts 2014, Toulouse, France
• Palme d’Or at Artoulouse 2014 for Figurative Painting category – Toulouse, France
• Winner of “Five Degrees” – World art competition 2014
• Winner of “New Master Artist 2013” – world art competition
• Winner at “Temps et Mécanique” – Upside art – world art competition – Dijon, France
• Prix Cotation Drouot – 12ème Salon International des Arts Plastiques et Littéraires (2013) – Toulouse, France
• Front Cover of American Art Book : International Contemporary Artists Vol VI (2013)
• Palme d’Or at Artoulouse (2013) for Figurative Painting category – Toulouse, France
• Honnor Guest at The 6th Contemporary Art Fair of Montauban (2012) – France
• Winner of Kunzfetti Competition (2012) – MaasRijn Kunst Society – The Netherlands
• Winner of “New Master Artist 2011” – world art competition