Paul Van Hoeydonck Belgian, b. 1925
PVH074 - Bonhomme, 1961
Mixed media
45.7 x 44.7 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso
During the period 1960-1962, Van Hoeydonck worked on a series of assemblages, made from disparate elements scavenged on the banks of the Antwerp port. Following a series of 'Boîtes à...
During the period 1960-1962, Van Hoeydonck worked on a series of assemblages, made from disparate elements scavenged on the banks of the Antwerp port. Following a series of 'Boîtes à Monocles', Van Hoeydonck fabricated 'Bonhommes', robot-like creatures, consisting of wooden planks and metal objects. Both subjects originated from a reaction to the conservative establishment's criticism concerning his avant-garde ZERO 'Light Works'. Somehow, from his planets to his robots, Paul Van Hoeydonck was always years ahead of art market fashions. In 1964, Pierre Restany aptly baptised Van Hoeydonck as the 'archaeologist of the future'.
These pre-figurations of his later 'Homo Spatiens' are contemporary to the British sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi's humanoid creatures in bronze. Back in 1991, Whitford Fine Art introduced these playful and satyrical 'Bonhommes' and 'Boîtes à Monocles' to the London market.
Van Hoeydonck's works are held by museums worldwide: Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna, Rome; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
These pre-figurations of his later 'Homo Spatiens' are contemporary to the British sculptor Eduardo Paolozzi's humanoid creatures in bronze. Back in 1991, Whitford Fine Art introduced these playful and satyrical 'Bonhommes' and 'Boîtes à Monocles' to the London market.
Van Hoeydonck's works are held by museums worldwide: Galleria Comunale d'Arte Moderna, Rome; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Antwerp; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York.
Provenance
Acquired directly from the Artist; Private collection, London.
Exhibitions
1961, Bonshommes et monocles de Paul Van Hoeydonck, Galerij P. Vanderborght, Brussels.
1991, Paul Van Hoeydonck: Bonshommes et Boites a Monocles 1960-1961, Adrian Mibus at Connaught Brown, London.
1995-96, Paul Van Hoeydonck Retrospectief, Provinciaal Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Oostende.
Literature
VAN DEN BUSSCHE, Willy. Paul Van Hoeydonck. Lannoo, Tielt, 1980, p. 49.
Paul Van Hoeydonck: Bonshommes et Boà Monocles 1960-1961, exhibition catalogue, Adrian Mibus at Connaught Brown, London, 1991.
VAN DEN BUSSCHE, Willy. Paul Van Hoeydonck Retrospectief. Provinciaal Museum voor Schone Kunsten, Oostende, ill. p. 77.