Jean-Pierre Ghysels (born in Uccle, 1932), a Belgian sculptor who studied with Ossip Zadkine at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris, has recently died (23 July 2024). This is a great loss for the arts, Ghysels' works have always made me think of beautiful planetary bodies, gracious, free, moving in space and turning again and again to uncover mysteries of the universe.
The Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium writes about his work: "Over the years, he has established himself as an essential figure in Belgian contemporary sculpture. His works, even when they are small, continue to surprise us with their monumentality and sensuality. The works in the exhibition reflect the impressive extend of the sculptor’s oeuvre.
The metal, beaten copper or bronze, comes in a wide and poetic range of patinas: browns, blacks and golds blend together and invite the viewer’s gaze to approach the pieces from all their facets.
Recognisable by their fluid and abstract style, the sculptures have their own singularity and have in common the particularity of having been conceived and created to be examined from all angles. Jean-Pierre Ghysels’ creations are the result of a dialogue with the material, an inexhaustible source of inspiration."
