Christine Kohl and Carl De Cleen in their studio, the creative force behind Christi Carlo, 2026
Christi Carlo is less about Delftware than about imagination, metamorphosis and the ways in which cultural memories can take on new forms.
- Christine & Carl -
Christi Carlo emerged from a shared fascination with the rich visual language of Delft Blue porcelain and the creative possibilities of new digital technologies.
Behind the project are Christine Kohl and Carl De Cleen, both graphic designers whose professional work involves advanced digital imaging and image manipulation techniques.
The profound transformation of the graphic design sector in recent years, driven by emerging technologies and particularly by the rise of AI-powered image creation, has made continuous exploration and learning essential. It was within this evolving creative context of research, experimentation and development that Christi Carlo came into being.
Carl, aged 3, in his grandparents' small garden
Christine in her first pair of jeans in 1979
Their interest in Delft Blue porcelain became the starting point for a series of works in which this familiar ceramic tradition is transformed into new organic, almost mythical forms. Sometimes playful, sometimes thought-provoking, but always created with respect for the craftsmanship and cultural heritage from which they originate.
The fragile beauty of porcelain serves as a metaphor for the fragility of the subjects depicted in these digital paintings. The tension between recognition and estrangement is precisely what gives these imaginary creations their power.
Carl and Christine at the Sint-Lukas Academy in Brussels, 1991
Entanglement
Carl De Cleen and Christine Kohl were born in 1968 and 1970 respectively. Their childhoods unfolded against the backdrop of the economic crises of the 1970s and 80s, but also in a period of rapid innovation in music, design and popular culture. This combination of uncertainty and imagination helped shape their creative development.
Both studied graphic design at the renowned Sint-Lukas Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels (now LUCA School of Arts), where they first met.
What began there would gradually grow into a lifelong partnership in which personal and creative lives became increasingly intertwined.
Over the years, they have worked together on numerous graphic and artistic projects, sharing not only a home and a family, but also a lasting curiosity about images, storytelling and emerging technologies.
Today, that shared journey continues into a new generation. Their daughter recently enrolled at the same academy where they first met, a reminder that creativity, like stories, has a tendency to travel onwards.