Ignace De Graeve ( Ghent, 24 September 1940 – Bruges, 17 January 2016) was a Belgian artist, who also used the name Graba. He created mainly paintings and jewellery.

Biography

Graba' enjoyed a very

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

education first in history, followed by decorative arts (Ghent) and finally audiovisual media (Paris). For eight years, he was a critic for the Belgian Radio and Television, hosting radio programs of classical music, and gave lectures on 'how to listen to music' in several cities. He led an international design agency for five years and provided numerous institutions, societies and companies with a new brand image. As artistic director of "language of forms" he was responsible for the creation and realisation of the Belgian pavilion for the 1985 World's fair at Tsukuba, Ibaraki, the Flanders Hotel in Gent, the Flemish-Japanese golf club in Hasselt, and the Markies Building in Brussels and buildings in Hong Kong and Singapore. He lived in Paris since 1979 and worked in France, Belgium and Portugal.

Works

Graba' created his paintings and jewels in cycles. He found inspiration in eastern as well as western themes. Graba' wanted to shock by painting in a deliberative figurative manner as a so-called "new" old master. He painted on large wooden panels, applying many layers of paint and ink, based on the

glacis A glacis (; ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in bastion fort, early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More genera ...

technique, giving the work a unique luminosity and transparency. His jewels were crafted through the

lost wax technique Lost-wax casting (also called "investment casting", "precision casting", or ''cire perdue'' which has been adopted into English from the French, ) is the process by which a duplicate metal sculpture (often silver, gold, brass, or bronze) i ...

. After centrifugal casting in 750/1000 alloy, the mould was broken and destroyed meaning only one original existed.

Cycles/exhibitions

*1976 – "Garden of Delights" (inspiration: '' The Garden of Earthly Delights'' of Hieronymus Bosch); Museum of Modern Art – Sint-Martens-Latem *1976 – "The Mystery of Light" (inspiration: the 12 hours of the day), Museum of Modern Art – Sint-Martens-Latem *1977 – "The Mystic of Islam" (inspiration: the religion of

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

), the Castel of Zeist, the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Etienne de Causans Gallery in Paris, the Art Museum of Tehran (Iran). 1978 – "Tantra" (inspiration: the ritual of Tantra), the Reserve Knokke *1978 – "The Painter and his model" (portraits), the Reserve Knokke *1979 – "Apocalypse" (inspiration: the book of Revelation), the City Theatre of Courtrai, Nardowe National Museum of Warschau, Museum Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg, Palau Virreina Barcelona *1980 – "The Conference of Birds" (inspiration: the poem " The Conference of the Birds" by the Persian Attar of Nishapur) (Jewels), Pascal Morabito Champs Elysées Paris, Mähler-Besse Antwerp, Casino of Knokke, International Gold Corporation – the Louvre des Antiquaires Paris *1981 – "Tree of Life" (inspiration: the Tree of life from the Book of Genesis) Casino of Knokke, Renheide Collection Leende *1981 – "Visions of the Night" Sfinks Gallery Antwerp, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1982 – "The New Genji" (inspiration: The Tale of Genji) Casino of Chaudfontaine, Gertrude Van Dyck Gallery Brussels, Hillman Collection *1983 – "Thousand Eyes of Water" – A.W.W. Antwerp *1984 – "The Language of forms" (Jewels) and "Birth" (Drawings) – Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1985 – "The Five Seasons" – Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1987 – "Genesis I" (inspiration: the Book of Genesis), Ladeuze Gallery Maarkedal, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1988 – "Men in the Mirror" (inspiration: painting of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker and draughtsman. An innovative and prolific master in three media, he is generally consid ...

) – the artist's private collection. *1989 – "Genesis II" – studio of the artist Paris *1991 – "Emotions in Motion I" : Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai, Morton & Graham Art Gallery in Santa Monica *1993 – "Emotions in Motion II" – Tresors & Tresors d'Art fine Art Fair for Asia-world Trade Centre Singapore. *1994 – "Cathedrals" Casa cor Gallery Cascais (Lisbon), Buschlen Mowatt Gallery Vancouver *1996 – "The Flowers of Evil" (inspiration: poem " Les Fleurs du mal" by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poetry, French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticis ...

), Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai, Première Gallery Paris, Richard May Gallery Chicago, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery Vancouver *1998 – "The Black Paintings" (inspiration: the ''

Black Paintings The ''Black Paintings'' (Spanish: ''Pinturas negras'') is the name given to a group of 14 paintings by Francisco Goya from the later years of his life, likely between 1819 and 1823. They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of both his ...

'' by Francisco Goya), artist's studio in Paris *1999 – "Landscapes", exhibition in the artist's studio in Paris *2003 – "La Divina Commedia" (inspiration: the epic '' Divine Comedy'' by Dante Alighieri), Art Hall kunsthal Sint-Pietersabdij Ghent *2004 – "Ulysses" (inspiration: the novel ''

Ulysses Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature. Ulysses may also refer to: People * Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name Places in the United States * Ulysses, Kansas * Ulysse ...

'' by James Joyce), works in progress *2007 – "Paradise Lost" (inspiration: "

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an epic poem in blank verse by the 17th-century English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The first version, published in 1667, consists of ten books with over ten thousand lines of verse (poetry), verse. A second edition fo ...

:, poem by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet and intellectual. His 1667 epic poem '' Paradise Lost'', written in blank verse and including over ten chapters, was written in a time of immense religious flux and political ...

), Jewels, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *2008 – "Graba' in residence", Belgian Embassy Copenhagen *2009 – "a Man of answers… ?" (inspiration: daily life questions and talks with the historical Iēshoua' of Nazareth), the Saint-Bavo Cathedral Ghent

Publications

Monographies

*1976 Garden of Delight, Safi (CH) *1976 The Mysteries of Light, Safi (CH) *1977 The Mystic of Islam, Safi (CH) *1978 Tantra, Safi (CH) *1978 The Painter and his Model, Safi (CH) *1980 The Conference of Birds, Editions du Temple, Paris *1982 The New Genji, LOF, Amsterdam *1984 The Language of forms, Decorte Publishing, Ghent *2003 La Divina Commedia, LOF Brussels

DVDs

*2003 La Divina Commedia, LOF Brussels *2007 Paradise Lost, LOF Brussels

External links

Graba' websiteVideo of official opening exhibition "a Man of answers" in Ghent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graba Belgian artists Flemish artists 20th-century Belgian painters 1940 births 2016 deaths