Bert De Leeuw

Dive into the work of Bert De Leeuw (1926–2007) during the summer of 2026. An artist to the core, who was born a hundred years ago in Antwerp's Zuid district. One major theme runs through his extensive oeuvre: a fascination with the origins and the transience of life within a cosmic totality.

Throughout his life, Bert De Leeuw continued to search for ways to translate ideas into visual form. As a self-taught artist, he drew on his experience as a painter of cinema posters and set designer at the BRT (Belgian Radio and Television Broadcasting). Throughout his career, he experimented with a wide range of materials: glass beads for a sparkling effect, or pieces of expanded polystyrene to try out large volumes.

The exhibition at the printroom presents a broad overview of his oeuvre. The point of departure comprises De Leeuw's paintings of matter from the late 1950s, in which he mixes paint with various substances and carves into it as it dries. The subtle underlying colours and primordial forms that emerge from this, comparable to human traces in prehistoric rock paintings, recur in his later work. Around 1957, the artist also begins to exhibit his work, including with the artist group G58 in the Hessenhuis in Antwerp. His work gains international recognition in cities such as London and New York, introducing him to major figures such as Giorgio de Chirico, Giacometti, Bacon and Fontana. 

In 1965, he switches to three-dimensional art, with sculptures and installations exploring the major themes of existence: life and death, uncertainty and wonderment. His fascination with numbers and structures leads to, among other things, six bronze cubes in the museum garden, part of a larger whole of 24 elements that can be combined ad infinitum. The exhibition illustrates this creative process with sketches, maquettes and models, and concludes with his late work Similaun 3000 (1995), a sculpture consisting of 24 elements that simultaneously refers to the prehistoric mummy of Ötzi and the future of humanity.

With the scenography designed by his son Hendrik De Leeuw, the exhibition promises to be a compelling experience.