Christian Dugardeyn aka Duga
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→ "Radiologist and artist at heart" published on August 24, 2022, in Le Journal du Médecin.This article explores Duga's journey, highlighting his dual career as a radiologist and artist, as well as his human-centered artistic approach. Site-LeJournalDuMedecin-FR
→ "Christian Dugardeyn" published in May 2020 in Santé Mentale magazine. This portrait describes how Duga draws his inspiration from daily life and his medical profession, creating works that reflect humanity with all its complexities. Santé Mentale+1Santé Mentale+1
→ Duga" published in November 2024 in Santé Mentale. This article delves into Duga's spontaneous and energetic artistic expression, as well as his varied influences, including primitive arts and raw art.
→ Nagelmakers, year 1, n°3, 2016 Behind the scenes, meeting with Christian Dugardeyn
→ Publication livre, Atlas d’anatomie humaine revisité par Duga, 2016
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Christian Dugardeyn, also known as Duga, has participated in numerous significant exhibitions throughout his artistic career.
Here is a selection of his most notable exhibitions:
→ 2003: Exhibition at the Pol-Art Gallery, Brussels.
→ 2011: Participation in the ART Momentum Gallery, Knokke.
→ 2013: Presence at the Salon d’Automne in Paris and the Salon des Indépendants, Paris.
→ 2014: Solo exhibition titled "One Line and Colors" in Tournai.
→ 2015: Participation in the Accessible Art Fair at the Cercle de Lorraine, Brussels, and the ART3F Contemporary Art Fair at Paris La Villette.
→ 2016: Exhibitions at Rollebeek Gallery and the Maison des Arts in Uccle.
→ 2018: Solo exhibition at Galerie L'Arbre à Plumes, Brussels, and participation in the Accessible Art Fair at BOZAR.
→ 2022: Solo exhibition at the Vincent Bonduelle Contemporary Art Space in Lille, France, and honored artist of Braine-l'Alleud, with an exhibition at Château Cheneau, Belgium.
→ 2023: Participation in the Affordable Art Fair in Brussels and Art Up Lille with Vincent Bonduelle Contemporary Art.
Christian Dugardeyn, alias Duga, has continued to enrich his artistic journey with remarkable exhibitions in 2024 and 2025.
Here are some of his major participations:
→ 2024: Duga was one of the featured artists at the inaugural exhibition of the K-art Signatures gallery in Brussels.
This collective exhibition, titled "Behind the Lines", highlighted artists exploring lines and colors in a vibrant and emotional way. (La Libre)→ 2024: He also participated in the "Let's Art in Brussels 2024" exhibition at Mont de Piété, alongside other contemporary artists.
His work, based on spontaneity and instinct, was showcased during this event. (Mont de Piété-Berg van Barmhartigheid) -
→ Honorary Artist of Arts-sur-heure 2017
→ Winner of the photography competition, Braine l'Alleud, 2024
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→instagram: @duga_art
Christian Dugardeyn aka Duga – A Passion for the Human Experience
Christian Dugardeyn, better known as Duga, is a Belgian painter, sculptor, draftsman, and photographer whose work is deeply rooted in spontaneity and instinct. Born in 1963 in Brussels, he has dedicated his artistic journey to exploring the depths of human emotion, relationships, and existence.
Duga’s art is a celebration of color, movement, and raw emotion. His paintings do not seek to reproduce reality but rather to reinterpret it through distortion and abstraction. As he often says, "the deformation of reality brings us closer to the truth." His figures, stretched, twisted, and exaggerated, are not meant to represent people as they appear but rather as they feel—capturing the invisible tensions, joys, sorrows, and struggles that define the human condition.
His creative process is instinctive, driven by an almost primal need to express what cannot always be put into words. He does not plan or sketch his compositions in advance; instead, he allows the painting to emerge naturally, guided by emotion and impulse. His works are vibrant, intense, and often unsettling, forcing the viewer to confront the complexity of human nature.
Duga is a master of mixed media, skillfully combining acrylic, oil, aerosol, pencil, and ink on a variety of supports—canvas, plexiglass, paper, aluminum, and wood. This diversity in technique and material reflects his unrestrained approach to art, where creativity knows no boundaries.
The recurring theme in Duga’s work is humanity in all its states—love and separation, joy and solitude, tension and tenderness, suffering and resilience. His paintings are not just images but stories, fragments of life captured in an explosion of colors and textures.
His influences are numerous and often unconscious, stemming from various artistic movements and styles. African tribal art, children's drawings, the raw expressiveness of Art Brut as pioneered by Jean Dubuffet, the rebellious energy of Bad Painting, the bold strokes of Robert Combas, the chaotic genius of Basquiat, the avant-garde vision of Picasso, the emotional depth of Expressionism, the radical spirit of the CoBrA movement, and the spontaneity of Street Art—all these elements contribute to his singular artistic voice. Yet, despite these diverse inspirations, Duga has developed a style that is entirely his own, instantly recognizable and profoundly personal.
Over the years, his work has been exhibited in numerous galleries and art spaces.
His pieces continue to resonate with audiences, inviting them to explore the unfiltered essence of human existence through his unique artistic lens.
Duga’s art is not about perfection—it is about truth. Through his deformed figures and expressive use of color, he challenges us to see beyond appearances and to embrace the beauty, pain, and complexity of life itself. His work is an invitation to feel, to question, and, ultimately, to connect with the raw, unvarnished essence of what it means to be human.
Christian Dugardeyn, also known as Duga, builds his work around a deeply instinctive and spontaneous approach. His art is a visceral exploration of the human experience, an attempt to capture the essence of emotions and the interactions that shape our existence. Rejecting any academic rigidity, he gives a prominent place to the unexpected and to raw expression, where spontaneity becomes a driving creative force.
Far from a mere realistic representation, Duga seeks to convey the truth of being through the distortion of his characters. For him, "the deformation of reality brings us closer to the truth." His figures are elongated, dislocated, fragmented—not to provoke, but to reveal what the ordinary gaze fails to perceive: inner tensions, human contradictions, and the fragility of relationships between individuals.
