Breaking the Cage: Koen Vanmechelen x Metaalbewerking Duaal leren SyntraPXL
Breaking the Cage is a collaboration between artist Koen Vanmechelen and the Metaalbewerking Duaal leren of SyntraPXL. The project offers young makers a rare opportunity to merge technical mastery with creativity, reflection, and social engagement.
Vanmechelen’s practice thrives on collaboration. From glass artists in Venice to marble carvers in Carrara, he seeks out the dialogue between art and artisanship. Equally vital to his work is connecting with local communities and emerging talent. Breaking the Cage embodies that commitment, a hands-on learning experience where artistic vision and craftsmanship meet, and where students help shape a work with global resonance.
The project began on March 12 earlier this year, when the students visited The Battery, Vanmechelen’s studio at LABIOMISTA in Genk. There, they received their challenge: to reinterpret a series of wooden sculptures that Vanmechelen created at the age of 17, titled Breaking the Cage. Their task; to transform these early works into new forms using metal as the central material.
The result is more than a technical exercise. It is a story of growth, transformation, and liberation, the same principles that define both artistic evolution and education itself.
The completed sculptures will be presented to the public next season at LABIOMISTA.
Breaking the Cage is part of OpUnDi Genk, the learning ecosystem through which LABIOMISTA and its partners in North Genk support the local community by creating experimental, talent-driven learning experiences. The initiative is made possible with the support of Europe WSE.
