From a Single Line brings together two contemporary artists, Babette Cooijmans and Lian Ng, whose practices explore the expressive potential of mark-making and material. Working primarily on Japanese washi paper and Western cotton paper, their works distill drawing to its essence—gesture, rhythm, and movement—while rejecting representational form. Each line or trace becomes an act of discovery, revealing how simplicity can hold complexity and emotion.

In this exhibition, the artists engage with the quiet discipline and tactile sensitivity of natural fiber paper, allowing its texture, absorbency, and translucency to shape the visual language of their compositions. 

Abstraction becomes an exploration of movement in Cooijmans’ works, how one line can open a field of space and hold the weight of thought. Ng’s works breathe through the tactility of paper—where ink, graphite and color pencil meet the delicate pulse of air and light. Both artists’ language is one without depiction, born instead from the quiet tension between control and release.

From a Single Line invites viewers to slow down, to look closely, and to sense the dialogue between line and surface, intention and accident—where the simplest mark becomes a world of its own.

—

From a Single Line (A partir de uma Única Linha) apresenta dois artistas contemporâneos cujas práticas exploram o potencial expressivo do gesto e do material. Trabalhando principalmente sobre papel japonês washi e papel de algodão ocidental, as suas obras trazem de novo o desenho à sua essência — ao gesto, ao ritmo e ao movimento — rejeitando a sua forma representacional. Cada linha ou traço torna-se num ato de descoberta que prova como a simplicidade pode conter complexidade e emoção.

Ao longo da exposição, os artistas dialogam com a disciplina subtil e a sensibilidade tátil do papel de fibras naturais, permitindo que a sua textura, absorvência e translucidez moldem a linguagem visual das composições.

De forma abstrata, o imaterial convida à exploração do movimento nas obras de Cooijmans, onde uma única linha permite criar espaço e sustentar o peso do pensamento. Já as obras de Ng respiram através da materialidade do papel, num exercício criativo onde a tinta, o grafite e o lápis de cor se encontram com o pulsar delicado do ar e da luz. A linguagem de ambos é desprovida de representação, nascendo antes do equilíbrio silencioso entre o controlo e a libertação.

From a Single Line convida o espectador a abrandar, a olhar de perto e a sentir o diálogo entre linha e superfície, intenção e acaso. Nesta mostra, o gesto mais simples revela também um mundo em si mesmo.

—

BABETTE COOIJMANS
1970 Tilburg (NL) - Lives and works in Antwerp (BE)
Master Visual Arts Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (BE)

In my work, I reflect on the sense of place, and the memory of the landscape. Often with a critical reference to climate change and ecological awareness. Typical features of my work are the drawn line patterns, the overlap of the patterns forming new shapes, and hue colors in layers on paper or canvas. The subtle structure of layers in my compositions and the conscious choice of the surface I work on, speak directly to the multisensory nature of the human mind. Shapes and colors trigger the memory and the viewer will construct new meaning according to their experience.

Drawing is the core of my work. Drawing is writing, planning, imagining, and picturing. I draw unique patterns and repeat them through print in various combinations and layers in a series of works. I usually start printing without a fixed plan, slowly building up the images. This process-based approach results in unique geometric abstract images with high transparency and tactility.

2025
From a Single Line  Manywhere Gallery, Porto (PT)
Galerie Charlie, Mechelen (BE)
Anonymous Drawings  Berlin, Erfurt, Hamburg (DE)

2024
Outside In  De Garage Kunsthal, Mechelen (BE)

2023
Shifting Horizons  (presentation and artisttalk) KKV Malmö (SE)
Because Every House Tells a Story  Das Dingenen Duffel (BE)
An Ideal for Living  Antwerp Artweekend SECONDroom Antwerp (BE)
I Have My Eye on the Wasteland #2 (solo) 
(50 Propositions for a New Direction)  SECONDroom Antwerp (BE)

2022 
I Have My Eye on the Wasteland (solo)  The Briesspace Antwerp (BE)
Openingsexpo  Galerie Charlie, Fabrik Mechelen (BE)
Extraction: On the Margin  Portfolio Exchange, CPS California (USA)

2021
Antwerp Art Editions & Publications  Antwerp Artfair Zeit, Antwerp (BE)
Le Pluriel  Shoobil Gallery, Antwerp (BE)
Learning to Whisper  Edition Basel at Atelier Mondial, Basel (CH)
Show Up/Show-Off  Onboards Biennale, Antwerp (BE)
Splash!  Zeit, Antwerp (BE)
Dive into Mankind  CERA-Collection, Leuven (BE)
curated by Ria Pacquée, Bram Antheunis en Eveline De Wilde
Mapping Narratives  New Prints Int’l Print Center New York (US)

2020
I Never Read  Art Book Fair at Schaulager, Basel (CH)
106th Annual Members Exhibition  California Printmakers Society Piedmont Center for the Arts,
Piedmont, California (US)
DASEIN  Edition Basel at Atelier Mondial, Basel (CH)
Screen on Paper  Curated Online, Megalo Print Studio, Kingston (AU)
Behind the Window / Unfolding Landscapes (solo)  Ghent (BE)

2019
Printing Plant  Art Book Fair Looiersgracht 60 Amsterdam (NL)
Selected Artists  Woolwich Contemporary Printfair London (UK)
Weitere Weiterreichung & Live Imprint (solo) Kunstraum Bethanien, Berlin (DE)
Ongezien #4  Havenhuis, Antwerp (BE) ​​​​​​​

Artworks included in international private and public collections: Collection Das Dingenen (BE), Looiersgracht 60 Amsterdam (NL), M HKA collection artist books Antwerp (BE), Frans Masereel Centre (BE), Ruimte Morguen Antwerp (BE), Flemish House Osaka (JP), Edition Basel (CH), Nevada Museum of Art California (USA), International Print Center New York (USA), KKV Malmö (SE)

—

LIAN NG
1966 Ipoh (MY) - Lives and works in Porto (PT)
BS Computer Science and Mathematics (US)
AA Visual Communications (US)

My background in Mathematics and Computer Science influences my art and design, which often incorporate mathematical algorithms, typography, and architectural references. I’m particularly drawn to the boundaries from which forms emerge—the perimeters that define shapes—and the generative patterns that allow simple elements to evolve into complex systems. This fascination with structure, order, and variation informs much of my creative process.

Most of my work begins with an underlying formal structure—often rooted in logic or geometry—but intentionally resists becoming rigid. I aim to balance precision with spontaneity, allowing each piece to retain a sense of organic fluidity. In this way, my practice is a dialogue between the analytical and the intuitive, the constructed and the accidental. Whether through repeating motifs, algorithmic structures, or grid-based layouts, the work reflects a quiet tension between control and openness—between rule and resonance.

2025
From a Single Line  Manywhere Gallery, Porto (PT)
Absence of Light  Manywhere Gallery, Porto (PT)
A Graphic Journey  Manywhere Gallery, Porto (PT)
HERE/AQUI  Manywhere Gallery, Porto (PT)

2024
What colour will my skin be under the water Kasko Gallery, Basel (CH)

2023
Hidden  Can Serrat, El Bruc, Barcelona (ES)

2021
Awagami Int’l Print Exhibition  Awa Museum, Tokushima (JP)
Travel, Print & Exchange  Weissenfels (DE)
Übergang  Papiermühle, Basel (CH)
Stillness, Movement, Chaos  Rochester, New York (US)

2020
CSP 106th Annual Exhibition  Center for the Arts, Piedmont (US)
10th International Printmaking Biennial Douro  Douro Valley (PT)
Dasein  Salon at Atelier Mondial, Basel (CH)

2019
Bone Black  DZine Gallery, San Francisco (US)
FIG  Palacio Euskalduna, Bilbao (ES)
Dimension Druck  Salzhaus, Brugg (CH)
The Void & the Perimeter  de Bouwput Gallery, Amsterdam (NL)

2017
Legacy of Letters  Tipoteca Italiana, Cornuda (IT)
Printed in Cuba  688 Sutter Gallery, San Francisco (US), Kasko Gallery, Basel (CH),
Havana Galerie, Zurich (CH), Taller Experimental de Gráfica, Havana (CU)

2016
Rock+Paper+Scissors  DZine Gallery, San Francisco (US)
HewnX  San Francisco Design Center, San Francisco (US)