LUKAS VERSTRAETE

The wildly psychedelic worlds of the Belgian surrealist

Lukas Verstraete (born 1992) is one of the boldest voices in contemporary Flemish comics and illustration. His work is distinguished by expressive drawing, surrealism, and playful eccentricity, all spiced with sharp humour, while his visually lavish worlds are inhabited by misfits, oddballs, and other anti-heroes. He gained international recognition with his debut A Book to Make Friends With (2017), a dizzying psychedelic odyssey about a hero searching for himself. This colourful narrative, full of bizarre twists, also captivates with its rich pop-cultural references, ranging from Hieronymus Bosch to Quentin Tarantino. As an illustrator, he works with renowned magazines and newspapers, including The New York Times, De Standaard and Le Monde Diplomatique. When not creating his fantastical worlds, Verstraete teaches illustration and comics at the renowned LUCA School of Arts in Ghent and Brussels.

At Tinta, he will take part in a group exhibition dedicated to the latest Stripburger anthology Holyburger, to which he contributed a comic about rituals. For the occasion, he has also created a special series of screen-printed graphics on the theme of modern-day saints. At DobraVaga, visitors will have a rare chance to peek into the intimate world of his unbridled creativity though his sketchbooks, while on Saturday he will also discuss his creative process in a masterclass.