Paul Van Hoeydonck Belgian, b. 1925
PVH071 - Bonhomme, 1961
Mixed media
61.5 x 26.5 cm
Signed, dated and titled verso
Certificate of Authenticity by the Artist
Certificate of Authenticity by the Artist
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 named '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 named 'Boîtes à Monocles', Van Hoeydonck fabricated his so-called 'Bonhommes', robot-like creatures consisting of wooden planks and metal objects. Both subjects originated from a reaction to the conservative establishment's criticism of his avant-garde ZERO 'Light Works'. 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 in museum collections 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 in museum collections 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
1960 - 1961, The Collection of Adrian Mibus at Connaught Brown Gallery, London.
Literature
Paul Van Hoeydonck: Bonshommes et Boîtes à Monocles 1960 - 1961, exhibition catalogue of the Collection of Adrian Mibus at Connaught Brown Gallery, London, 1991, ill. cat. no. 5.
VAN DEN BUSSCHE, Willy. Paul Van Hoeydonck. Lannoo, Belgium, 1980, cat. no. 42, ill. p. 48