Biography

The artists he admired include, among others: Joseph Beuys, Marcel Broodthaers, Bruce Nauman and Pablo Picasso.

Panamarenko received two honorary doctorates: In 2010 at the University of Hasselt and in 2014 at the Univerity of Mons.

He became interested in aeroplanes and human powered flight. This interest is also reflected in his name, which supposedly is an acronym for "Pan American Airlines and Company". The name Panamarenko may also be influenced by Panteleimon Ponomarenko, a politician-ambassador from the former Soviet Union.

He once said: "To make good work, you first have to be lazy for a time, with nothing at all to do. That's when you begin to think and play with ideas, and then something can grow out of that.".

Panamarenko's fascination with flight started from an early age when he saw German V1's fly over Antwerp.