Exhibition catalogue Belgian Geometric Abstraction

As in the rest of Europe, Belgian abstraction underwent two major peaks in the course of the 20th century. One, known as the Plastique Pure movement, occurred in the early 1920s and saw the emergence of a group of young artists who questioned the foundations of painting by further developing ideas started by cubism and futurism.

This relatively ephemeral movement was based around two main geographic hotbeds:
Brussels and Antwerp. The movement was pioneered by such artists as Michel Seuphor, Jozef Peeters, Paul Joostens, and Victor Servranckx.

The second important occurrence of this abstraction cropped up just after WWII. A new generation of artists found itself facing two often diametrically opposed choices: that of a lyrical and impulsive abstraction and that of a geometrical and rationalized one. Jo Delahaut was the enduring and symbolic leader of these creators who positioned themselves as heirs to Russian constructivists and Bauhaus.

The works shown in the exhibition will offer a large overview of Belgian geometric art’s evolution from the 1920s to the current day, notably by showing how contemporary artists continue
to explore ideas initiated by their predecessors.

The exhibition catalogue provides a theoretical and historical analysis of Belgian geometric abstraction whose impact may be felt beyond the duration of the exhibition. It will hence include a historical text on the whole period, from the 1920s to the current day; a text by Claude Lorent (journalist, curator and art critic for the newspaper La libre Belgique); and a series of interviews with the contemporary artists who are part of the show.