( s o o n ) is pleased to present WAG THE DOG, the first solo exhibition of Jef Staut.

Staut's background in hand-drawn animation continues to shape his practice, where drawing, repetition, sequencing and variation remain central to his process. He draws the same forms again and again until they evolve into a new "alphabet" — through this repetitive process, he becomes intimately familiar with the lines that define each shape, until they can be stretched, twisted, or redirected in ways that make the familiar feel strange, yet still somehow reasonable.

Staut's visual vocabulary begins to resemble letters, signs, or symbols. Their combinations suggest an invented script — a language that looks as though it ought to mean something, while refusing to settle into fixed meaning. It is a kind of poetic make-believe, convincing enough to send the eye searching for meaning. It looks for a system. It finds one, briefly. Then loses it again.

Staut's paintings might be understood as animation made static — or, conversely, as painting that still behaves as though it could move. Perhaps this is where the exhibition's title returns: when the logic of an image becomes strong enough, the tail begins to wag the dog.

All welcome.

OPENING WEEKEND
26 - 27 September 2026 | 14h - 18h
FINISSAGE WEEKEND
14 - 15 November 2026 | 14h - 18h

or by appointment

Please be aware the gallery is not open every weekend but only during the open weekends mentioned above and by appointment.