Remarks
(craquelure)Exhibition
"Jef Verheyen & Albert Szukalski" Casino, Knokke 1971"Retrospectieve Jef Verheyen" PMMK, Ostend 1994, exhibition cat. nr. 69, p. 63
Literature
this work was registered by the Jef Verheyen ArchiveI paint, so I see
Jef Verheyen intended not to paint with color, but to portray color itself. Color became the object of his art. In the late 1950s, the artist resolutely opted for the monochrome, something he will remain faithful to for the rest of his career. With his monochromes he wants to express the dialogue between light and color. For him it is the ultimate quest for tonality, nuance, tension and intensity within the boundaries of the same color. His motto was invariably "I paint to see".
In order to meticulously depict the subtle gradations of a color, Verheyen worked in various transparent layers of paint. In this way the degree of nuance was much higher and the light could penetrate through every thin layer. These acrobatics of light made the surface appear "fogged" rather than actually painted. Verheyen was one of the first monochrome painters in Western Europe and his artworks are therefore considered part of the canon of Belgian abstract art today.
