Eelco Brand was born in 1969 in Rotterdam. After experiencing his first artistic recognition for his paintings, he discovered in the early 1990s the computer as an innovative tool to expand his vision on dimensions such as sound and movement. For Eelco this turn to digital art is a logical consequence of the availability and continuous development of new media. He is interested in finding new ways to experiment with modes of perception and to question them again and again. For this purpose he uses the full range of technology available to him.

Eelco Brand sees a major drive for artists in their will to imitate, to double and to improve nature, in his opinion a will deeply rooted in human culture. Visual art always wanted to imitate nature and create ideals of it. Eelco Brand cites these imitations and creations in an ironical way and creates both absurd and surreal objects from it. The nature in his paintings and 3-D animations seems surreal, placing the incidental in the center. With the help of computer technology Eelco Brand brings imitation to its extreme. His simulated reality seems so perfect that only on second sight what seems like nature gets exposed as fiction.

Eelco Brand uses different forms of representation, he creates drawings, paintings and films. What they all have in common is both their irritating and amusing style. The joint feature of his 3-D computer animations is the absence of a narrative structure. They do not reveal more than they show but do point to something mysterious. The dramaturgy of the compositions is determined by the interplay of light and darkness, the coming together of motion and stillness. With its hyper-realistic animations he creates fantastic worlds and forms in sculptural abstraction and detailed precision at the same time. For example he created a series of coloured objects (red object, blue object, yellow object, 2009), placed in a realistic, natural environment, where the plasticity provides an immediate, tactile stimulus to the viewer. But these objects are as enigmatic as they are fictional, they reveal nothing about their history or meaning.

While characterised by an extreme accuracy in modeling, Eelco Brands’ work always shows a sense of irony. In the 3-D animations such as B.movi (2010) we see an absurd jiggling object in an endlessly repetitive motion. Such meditative studies of simple processes intend a reflection of our own perception, they celebrate their rhythmic, flowing movements and their own plasticity, without taking themselves too seriously. Also his drawings seem to mislead our perception. His “pencil drawings” look like computer generated imagery, but are actually drawn by hand.

Eelco is an important representative of 3D art. He lives and works in Breda, Netherlands.

Born 1969 in Rotterdam
1996  Sandberg Instituut, Amsterdam
1991/1995  Gerrit Rietveld Academy, Amsterdam

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019
On display, Massimoligreggi Gallery, Catania, IT
Randomized, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
2018
Polygons & Polymers, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
2015
Animatio, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Brand vol.1 part 1&2, The Wild Side Gallery, Antwerpen, Belgium
Instances, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
STOP PAUSE PLAY, De Fabriek, Emmen, Netherlands
2014
Digitale animaties, Wild Side Gallery, Antwerpen, Belgium
2013
BRAND Animaties & Prints + Object, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2012
The illusionary camera, LIPA, Lumière Gallery, Seoul, South Korea
Persistence of Vision, painting with software, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Doganın Plastikligi, Açıkekran New Media Arts Gallery, curated by Ali Akay, Istanbul, Turkey
2011
eelcobrand.moví #2, 38CC, Delft, Netherlands
Slow sculptures, (duo) Heden, Den Haag, Netherlands
eelcobrand.movi, Centrum voor Beeldcultuur, Breda, Netherlands
2010
Matérialisations virtuelles, TORCH Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2008
Dreamality, Gallery Lumière, Seoul, South Korea
2007
Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Espacio Líquido, Gijón, Spain
2005 
Digital Dao, Far East Art Museum, Chabarovsk, Russia
2004
Sam Brook Gallery, Moscow, Russia
Moving paintings, Yaroslavl Art Museum, Yaroslavl, Russia
2003
Image engineer, Museum de Beyerd, Breda, Netherlands
Marella Arte Contemporanea Gallery, Milan, Italy
PPOW Gallery, New York, USA
2002
Richard Goodall Gallery, Manchester, UK
2001
Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2000
H.Q.E. Gallery, Calais, France
1999
André Simoens Gallery, Knokke, Belgium
1996
Lokaal 01, Breda

GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022
Inside the Outside, pioneers in lens-based media, CODA Museum, Apeldoorn, Netherlands
2021
Razende stilstand, Stedelijk Museum Breda, NL
Today I would like to be a tree, Studio la Città, Verona, IT
Water Reverie, Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, TR
2020
A sign of things to come, Galerie Ramakers, Den Haag, NL
No PAN this year, Jan van Hoof Galerie, Den Bosch, NL
EXPO 5 video estafette 24/7, Concordia, Enschede, NL
De aarde lacht in bloemen, Flower Art Museum, Aalsmeer, NL
Flowers… as unusual, Jan van Hoof Galerie, Den Bosch, NL
Haagse School X Haagse Nieuwe, pop-up galerie Ramakers, Museum Jan Cunen, Oss, NL
Torch Special, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
They, Massimo Ligreggi Gallery, Catania, IT
2019
Illusion Natur, Museum Sinclair-Haus, Frankfurt, DE
Imaginaire Landschappen, Museum Helmond, Helmond, NL
Vergezicht, Jan van Hoof Galerie, Den Bosch, NL
Raketstart, Stedelijk Museum Breda, NL
AppèlGaleries, Jan van Hoof, Werkwarenhuis, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, NL
House for sale, Elsweg, Apeldoorn, NL
Dromen van bomen, Gorcums museum, Gorinchem, NL
Overtur’, Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, TR
Continuüm, de Vishal, Haarlem, NL
PAN Amsterdam, Jan van Hoof Galerie, NL
Art Rotterdam, Torch gallery, NL
2018
Will en Jan van Hoof prijs, Noord Brabants Museum, Den Bosch, NL
Voorwaarts in een cirkel, Kunstenlab, Deventer, NL
PAN Amsterdam, Jan van Hoof Galerie, Amsterdam, NL
First decade, 38CC, Delft, NL
Into the wild blue wonder, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, NL
Spatium’, Palazzo Botti, curated by A. Madesani, Bergamo, IT
Forever young curators, Beelden op de berg, Wageningen, NL
Twilight, curator Necmi Sönmez, Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, TR
Tulpenmanie bij MIJ, Museum IJsselstein, IJsselstein, NL
Jan van Hoof Galerie, Den Bosch, NL
Cultuurnacht, Creetion, Breda, NL
2017
Art Rotterdam, Torch Gallery, Rotterdam
Ode aan het maakproces’, Museum KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
‘Script’, Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
Simulacrum, Noorderlicht, Groningen, Netherlands
Quand la nature s’éveille, Galerie Ramakers, The Hague, Netherlands
0% Organic, Jan van Hoof Galerie, Den Bosch, Netherlands
Grensgebieden, De-Passages, CBK Emmen, Netherlands
Appèl Solo, Kazerne, Eindhoven, Netherlands
You lifted my spirits, CBK Emmen, Netherlands
#PostFuture, Athens Digital Arts, Athen, Greece
PAN Amsterdam, Jan van Hoof galerie, Netherlands
2016
Art Miami, Torch Gallery, Miami, USA
OVNI, Video art festival, Nice, France
KLIK animation, ‘RE-Framing Utopia’, EYE museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Nieuwe Lusten, MOTI Museum of the Image, Breda, Netherlands
Arte Fiera Bologna, Studio la Città, Italy
Digital generation, Art from Fidelity International, OBS Gallery, Kent, Great Britain
Till it’s gone, Istanbul Modern, Istanbul, Turkey
2015
Fathoms, Kino International, Berlin, Germany
Bamequinox, Museo Ixchel, Guatamala
Beelden zijn de nieuwe woorden, MOTI, Breda, Netherlands
Move on…! 100 jaar animatiekunst, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort, Netherlands
STOP PAUSE PLAY, CBK De Fabriek, Emmen, Netherlands
2014
Der Wanderer, Bredaphoto, MOTI museum, Breda, Netherlands
30 years of Torch, Torch gallery Amsterdam, Netherlands
Jan van Hoof galerie, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
Common Ground: Earth’ Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
In de wolken, de Fabriek CBK, Emmen, Netherlands
Licht aan de Linge, KunstFort Asperen, Acquoy, Netherlands
HOUT, Het Nieuwe Instituut, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Bucolic Turmoil, Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Сезон побед, Manege, Moscow, Russia
One eye only, cultuurnacht Breda, Netherlands
2013
To catch a falling feather / recomposed, LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
PAN Amsterdam, Galerie Ramakers, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Disco,  Flatland Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Hortus Conclusus, Galerie Jan van Hoof, Den Bosch, Netherlands
To catch a falling feather, Arti & Amicitiae, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Viewmasters, Galerie Nouvelles Images, Den Haag, Netherlands
Photography Extended, Museum het Valkhof, Nijmegen, Netherlands
2012
Segment #3, curated by Necmi Sönmez, Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey
KIAF, Int. Art Festival, Kathmandu, Nepal
Al di là della pittura, curated by Angela Madesani, Il Chiostro arte contemporanea, Saronno, Italy
I don’t sleep, I dream, curated by Marijke de Bie, Schellens Factory, Eindhoven, Netherlands
Road to Kathmandu, galerie Ramakers, Den Haag, Netherlands
Urban Outsiders, Huize Frankendael, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Codex Dynamic, Manhattan Bridge Anchorage, New York, US
Mobile Forest, curated by Hui-Ching Hsieh, Digital Art Center, Taipeh, Taiwan
The Flash of Nature, Salone Degli Incanti, Trieste, Italy
There was a world, once, Märkisches Museum Witten, Germany
2010
Digitale verleiding, galerie LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
Soul of Korea, Kaiserliche Hofburg, Gotischer Keller, Innsbruck, Austria
Art Cologne, Studio la Città, Cologne
Texture maps, Nest, Den Haag, Netherlands
De Fantasiefabriek, Animatiekunst in Nederland’, Noordbrabants Museum, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands
2009
The Unforgettable Fire, 25 years TORCH Gallery, homage to Adriaan van der Have, Kunsthal, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Discovering Slowness, Chinese European Art Center, Xiamen, China
Videoràma, ArtVerona, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Handpicked!, curated by Loek Grootjans, Locuslux Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
TORCH Gallery at Temporary Gallery Cologne, Germany
Visual Intersection.kr.nl, SIPA, Seoul, South Korea
Ars Sublimis, curated by Javier Cano, Orensanz Summer Museum, New York, USA
Huésped, Colección MUSAC en Rosario – MACRO Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Rosario, Rosario, Argentina
Huésped, Musac at Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires, Argentina
MVD, Museo d’arte contemporanea Roma, Rome, Italy
Natura Naturans, curated by Angela Madesani, Casello delle Polveri, Venice, Italy
Remain in Nature, galerie LUMC, Leiden, Netherlands
Landscape as a dream, curated by Luigi Meneghelli, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Art Rotterdam, TORCH Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands
2008
Iniciarte Project/ Bienal de Sevilla, Spain
360º, RASA, CC Sint-Niklaas, Belgium
ARCO Madrid/ Pulse NY, Espacio Líquido
Lumen Eclipse, Cambridge, USA
Art Brussels/ Art Chicago, Studio la Città
Today Art Museum, ‘The One Minutes, opening exhibition’, Beijing, China
Exoten, Beelden op de berg, Arboretum, Wageningen, Netherlands
2007 
Existencias, MUSAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Spain
Gallery Lumière, Seoul, South Korea
ShContemporary, Studio la Città, Shanghai, China
Second Nature, Fette’s Gallery, Los Angeles, USA
Discovering slowness, The National Centre of Photography, St. Petersburg, Russia
CIRCA, Espacio Líquido, Puerto Rico
Paulo Post Futurum, Breda’s Museum- Lokaal 01, Breda, Netherlands
De ontdekking van de traagheid, KW14 Waterstraat, Den Bosch, Netherlands
1ª Bienal de Canarias Arquitectura, Arte y Paisaje, Casa de los Capitanes, La Laguna, Tenerife, Canary Islands
Reale Instabile, MAM Museo d’arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Mantova, Italy
ARCO, Espacio Líquido, Madrid, Spain
Dreamland, kunstvereniging Diepenheim/ Gist galerie, Brummen, Netherlands
FotoFinish, Centrum Beeldende Kunst, Den Bosch, Netherlands
2006 
Globos Sonda, MUSAC Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León, Spain
New Code, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Nuit Blanche Euronight 06 Art Video, Toronto, Canada
One minutes Fringe, Shanghai BizArt Art Center, China
The salt of water, Art museum, Kaliningrad, Russia
MiArt, Studio la Città, Milan, Italy
Art Basel, Studio la Città, Basel, Switzerland
Voltashow 02, Torch Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
2005
Animotion, Studio la Città, Verona, Italy
Crysalis, Dutch Eyes, Castello Svevo di Bari, Bari, Italy
HxBxD= de Rabobank Kunstcollectie, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Netherlands
Constructed moment, KW-14, Den Bosch, Netherlands
Paradise by the laptoplight, ‘t Hoogt, Utrecht, Netherlands
Silent movements, Vlissingen, Rotterdam, Breda, Netherlands
Wonderkamers, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, Netherlands
Art Basel, Studio la Città, Basel, Switzerland
Voltashow 01, Torch Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Het Domein, Plaatwerkerij, Vlissingen, Netherlands
Arte Fiera Bologna, Studio la Città, Bologna
2004
Urban Forest, Tatar Gallery, Toronto, Canada
ARCO Madrid/ Art Basel Miami Beach, Studio la Città
Dreamscapes, Galerie Aeroplastics, Brussel, Belgium
Art Rotterdam, Torch Gallery, Netherlands
Parktv, Stedelijk Museum CS, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2003
Tremor, Lothringer13/ spiegel, Munich, Germany
SKOR- INKIJK, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Arte Fiera Bologna, Marella Arte Contemporanea, Italy
2002
Museum Boymans Van Beuningen, ‘Caldic Collectie’, Rotterdam, Netherlands
One minute video, Centraal Museum Utrecht, Netherlands
La nuit art video, Strasbourg, France
Het Geheugen van een stad, Grote Kerk Breda, Netherlands
Dutch Mountains, Museum Bommel van Dam, Venlo, Netherlands
Video-exhibition Kriterion, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Straal 02, de Balie, Amsterdam, Netherlands
2001 
Stroomversnelling, Groninger Museum, Groningen, Netherlands
Art Film, Art Basel, Stadtkino, Basel, Switzerland
Achter de Horizon, Noordbrabants museum, Den Bosch, Netherlands
New European Artists, Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Aanwinsten, Noordbrabants museum, Den Bosch, Netherlands
2000
Moving Still, Sandberg 2, Hoorn, Netherlands
Videohalte Koolhaas, Groningen, Netherlands
Lokaal 01, Breda, Netherlands
Art Cologne, Torch Gallery, Cologne, Germany
Een ceder in mijn tuin, KW 14, Den Bosch, Netherlands
1999
Art Brussels, Simoens Gallery, Brussel, Belgium
Art Basel, Torch Gallery, Basel, Switzerland
Kamerschatten, KW14, Den Bosch, Netherlands
1998
Lokaal 01, Breda, Netherlands
Pépinières Européennes, Paris, France
Caldic collectie, Stadhuis, Rotterdam, Netherlands
Lokaal 01, Breda, 1998/2001
Parktv Amsterdam, New York, 1998/2002/2003
1997
Uitgelicht Kunstrai, FvdBK
Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
NBKS, Salon, Breda, Netherlands
Krabbedans, Eindhoven, Netherlands
1996
Torch Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Arti & Amicitiae, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Galerie Havré, Mons, Belgium
Kon. Subsidie v. vrije schilderkunst, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Lokaal 01, Breda, Netherlands
100 Nederlandse schilders, Living Art, Ameland, Netherlands
Art Cologne, Torch Gallery, Cologne, Germany
1995
Kunstrai, FvdBK Uitgelicht, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Spaendonck, Living Art, Tilburg, Netherlands
Lokaal 01, Polygeen, Breda, Netherlands

AWARDS  
1996
Publieksprijs Koninklijke Subsidie voor vrije schilderkunst
1995
Arti & Amicitiae award
1994
Buning Brongers award

PUBLICATIONS
2012
Eelco Brand: 3rd Lumière International Photography Award. The illusionary camera, LIPA Gallery Lumiere.
2011
Eelco Brand, 2011, DAM GALLERY Berlin.
2007 
Eelco Brand, 2007, TORCH Books/ DAM GALLERY Berlin.
2003  
Eelco Brand, ‘Verf en Elektronen’, 2003, P-Pers Publishers.
2001
Eelco Brand, ‘Image Engineer’, 2001, TORCH Books.

COLLECTIONS
Collection MUSAC, Museo de arte contemporaneo, León, Spain
Collection Rabobank, Netherlands
Collection Solstice, Norway
Rothschild Collection, Italy
Caldic Collectie Rotterdam, Netherlands
Collection Generali, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Collection Royal House, Netherlands
Collection Noordbrabants Museum Den Bosch, Netherlands
Collection Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken
Collection Gemeente Breda, Netherlands
Private collections: Belgium, Canada, England, Germany, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Russia, USA, South Korea

COMMAND + CONTROL + Q, DAM Berlin, February 26 – April 30, 2022
FORWARD IN A CIRCLE, DAM Berlin, Online Show
SUMMER SPLASH 5, DAM Berlin, 13 July – 07 September 2019
SUMMER SPLASH 4, DAM Berlin, 23 June – 31 July 2018
ELECTROPIA, DAM Berlin, 8 April –  9 June 2017
STILL, MOVING, MATERIALIZED, DAM Berlin, 31 March – 23 May 2015
BACK TO BACK, DAM Frankfurt, 20 February – 4 May 2013
THE ACT OF BRINGING TO LIFE, DAM Berlin, 22 February – 13 April 2013
FIELD OF VIEW EXTENTED, DAM Berlin, 2 April – 21 April 2011
FIELD OF VIEW, DAM Cologne, 17 November 2010 – 15 January 2011
INTERMEZZO – KÜNSTLER DER GALERIE, DAM Berlin, 31 August – 7 September 2010
ELECTRIC PAINT, DAM Berlin, 25 May – 30 June 2007