Virtual abstract art museum

23/01/2017

The Flemish Minister of Culture, Sven Gatz, has launched an online museum devoted to abstract art and modernism in Belgium.

While Belgian abstract art has been of interest to art vendors and collectors for a number of years, the same cannot be said for art institutions, who have often simply placed these works in their storage areas. This is what makes the bilingual (Dutch, English) website so interesting: www.abstractmodernisme.be.

In Belgium, abstract art has long been overshadowed by the success of the expressionist and surrealist movements. Yet, in the run-up to the war, great masters such as Georges Vantongerloo, Victor Servranckx, and Jozef Peeters already showed their prowess in this domain. Following the war, Belgian abstract art underwent a renaissance in terms of international fame. Worth mentioning are Jo Delahaut, Luc Peire, Pol Bury, Michel Seuphor, Gilbert Swimberghe, Guy Vandenbranden, Jef Verheyen, Paul Van Hoeydonck, Mark Verstockt, Antoine Mortier, Jules Lismonde, Marc Mendelsohn, Gaston Bertrand, Amedee Cortier, Dan Van Severen, and Englebert Van Anderlecht – to cite only a few names of contemporary artists working with internationally renowned avant-garde art groups such as Art Abstrait, Art Construit, Formes, and G58.

This newly launched website thus aims to combat a lack of visibility – and therefore interest on the part of the general public – for an important part of Belgium’s artistic production.