Guy Vandenbranden (Brussels, July 14, 1926) – (Antwerp, June 3, 2014) was a Belgian artist. He has worked as a painter, draftsman,

collage artist Collage (, from the french: coller, "to glue" or "to stick together";) is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an Assemblage (art), assemblage of different forms, thus creat ...

, sculptor and

graphic artist A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, p ...

Style and work

From 1951 onwards, Guy Vandenbranden said goodbye to figuration and started to work lyrically abstract. In 1952, Vandenbranden ended up in the Brussels art scene and became friends with Pol Bury, Jo Delahaut, Kurt Lewy, Jean Rets and Jean Milo. Thanks to these contacts, Guy Vandenbranden joined the artists' group "Art Abstrait" in 1956. Vandenbranden worked completely geometrically abstract from 1954 on and practiced this visual language consistently until his death in 2014. Around 1958, Vandenbranden worked mainly in black and white, his artworks almost coming to monochromy and there was a clear connection with the work of the American Hard Edge of that time. From 1961, Vandenbranden started working with relief and his first abstract sculptures were created. From 1967 onwards Guy Vandenbranden started to spray cellulose lacquer directly on panels with the aim to create visual illusions (akin to the

Op Art Op art, short for optical art, is a style of visual art that uses optical illusions. Op artworks are abstract, with many better-known pieces created in black and white. Typically, they give the viewer the impression of movement, hidden images ...

New Flemish School

In 1959, Vandenbranden and Jef Verheyen planned to open an Antwerp avant-garde gallery to bring together artists with a like-minded spirit. Piero Manzoni, Jean Tinguely and

Lucio Fontana Lucio Fontana (; 19 February 1899 – 7 September 1968) was an Argentine-Italian painter, sculptor and theorist. He is mostly known as the founder of Spatialism. Early life Born in Rosario, to Italian immigrant parents, he was t ...

had pledged to work together, but in the end this project jumped and G58 took the role as platform for a new (European) avant-garde at the Hessenhuis in Antwerp. After their project ended, Vandenbranden and Jef Verheyen forged plans with Englebert Van Anderlecht to the establishment of the '' New Flemish School '' in 1960. This artists' group, including Paul Van Hoeydonck, Jan Dries and Vic Gentils, aimed to promote their art internationally with exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.

Selection of solo exhibitions

1950 Galerie St. Laurent, Brussels (Belgium) 1952 Galerie St. Laurent, Brussels (Belgium) Galerie Iris, Antwerp (Belgium) 1956 Galerie Het Atelier, Antwerp (Belgium) 1958 Albert Landry Gallery, New York (USA) 1959 Galerie St.Laurent, Brussels (Belgium) Galleria Pater, Milan (Italy) 1960 Galerie Aujourd'hui, Brussels (Belgium) 1961 Galerie Orez, Den Haag (The Netherlands) 1963 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Verviers (Belgium) 1964 Galerie Müller, Stuttgart (Germany) 1966 Galerie Le Zodiaque, Brussel (Belgium) Galerie Bernard, Solothurn (Switzerland), with artist

Roger Raveel Roger Henri Kamiel, Knight Raveel (15 July 1921 – 30 January 2013) was a Belgian painter, whose work is often associated with pop art because of its depiction of everyday objects. Raveel's style evolved throughout his career, from abstract to ...

1979 Galerie Schneller, Düsseldorf (Germany) 1981 Morley Gallery, Londen (UK)

Selection of books and catalogs

Monographs * Jole Marcel van & Ernest Van Buynder, ''Guy Vandenbranden. Een halve eeuw constructivisme'', uitgeverij Snoeck, Gent, 2006 * Tiefenthal Marc, ''De opbouw in lijn gezet / 50 jaar constructivisme. Monografie omtrent de schilder Guy Vandenbranden'', Pandora, Antwerpen, 2001 * Vermeiren David, ''Guy Vandenbranden. Een abstract leven'', Callewaert Vanlangendonck Gallery, Antwerpen, 2014 * Vermeiren David, ''Guy Vandenbranden. Inner Circle'', Callewaert Vanlangendonck Gallery, Antwerpen, 2016 Magazines and articles * Jespers, Henri-Floris, 'Galerie Saint Laurent: Guy Vandenbranden (3/6)', ''Connexion'', afl. 17 (2009), 7–11 * Mertens, Phil, 'Guy Vandenbranden. Kunst en integratie', ''Streven'', 49/2 (1981), 168 e.v. * Vree, paul De, 'De Nieuwe Vlaamse School. Voor- en achtergronden' (themanummer), ''De Tafelronde'', 16/1 (1971)

Death and legacy

On June 3, 2014, Guy Vandenbranden died in Antwerp and bequeathed his archives to the Antwerp

Callewaert Vanlangendonck Gallery Callewaert Vanlangendonck Gallery is a Belgian art gallery for abstract art in Antwerp. It was founded in 2012 by Yoeri Vanlangendonck and Brecht Callewaert in the Wolstraat in Antwerp. In 2013 a second space opened in the same street. In 2017, the ...

. This gallery then founded the 'Estate Guy Vandenbranden', which manages the artistic oeuvre of Guy Vandenbranden and promotes it at home and abroad.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandenbranden, Guy 1926 births 2014 deaths