An exhibition of over 100 works by the foremost Belgian painter and graphic artist, one of the most prolific contemporary woodcut artists. Frans Masereel is known, like Wladyslaw Skoczylas in Polish art - as the creator of modern Belgian woodcut.
The works on display at the ICC Gallery include not only the artist's famous prints, but also a number of oil paintings, watercolours and illustrations for books by Emile Verhaeren, Lev Tolstoy, Charles De Coster and Romain Rolland.
After the outbreak of World War I, Masereel, a pupil of Jean Delvin and Jules de Bruycker, settled in neutral Switzerland. It was at this time that he met Rolland and Stefan Zweig, which had a great impact on his subsequent work. Shortly thereafter he began contributing to the pacifist periodicals La Feuille and Les Tablettes. Among the works that did most to draw him to the attention of public opinion were his illustrations for La Feuille, which were especially spontaneous and sharp in their expression. Over three years Masereel built up an impressive oeuvre of more than 1000 drawings. International acclaim came in response to his "novels in woodcuts" - his graphic portfolios My book of hours (1918), The Idea (1920), The City (1925), The Mermaid (1928).
His simplified and geometrised shapes, their changing rhythm, strong contrasts between whites and blacks, and surprising compositions are central to the expression of Masereel's woodcuts. He mastered the technique to perfection, and it became his main channel of artistic expression.
His stature was appreciated in 1950 at the Venice Biennale, where he was awarded the Grand Prix. On the initiative of the Belgian Ministry of Culture the Centre for Graphic Arts in Kasterlee, opened in 1972, was named in his memory. This is a well-known research, training and exhibition centre promoting the graphic arts, and a forum for international artistic confrontations.
The works to be shown at the ICC Gallery come from the unique collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Gent, the City Print Room in Antwerp, the collections of Dexia Bank, and several private collections.
The show, organised in collaboration with the Antwerp Province, will follow on from the exhibitions of the work of Marcel Mariën, James Ensor and the Brussels symbolists in presenting the oeuvre of Belgian artists at the International Cultural Centre.
The exhbition runs between May 17th and August 21st
International Cultural Centre: Rynek Glowny 25
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