Paul Joostens 

Of all Antwerp’s Modernist artists, Paul Joostens is the most wayward, eccentric and idiosyncratic. His art, typically unconventional, often dark and sometimes with a touch of the perverse, deliberately presents a different face to that of the dominant modernist aesthetic. Discover an intimate portrait of an intriguing personality. 

After an early period as a Post-Impressionist and painter of Cubo-Futurist female figures, he decided he no longer wished to work as an imitator of others. Joostens created a personal and artificial visual universe. He combined the radically subversive spirit of Dada with a nostalgic return to the spirituality and Gothic style of medieval Flanders. 

In 2023, Galerie Ronny van de Velde donated 214 works of art. More than enough reason for a concise yet incisive retrospective of Joostens’ oeuvre. This exhibition will present paintings, drawings, collages and assemblages intermingled in a remarkable display. In this context, the KMSKA regards Joostens as an ‘artist’s artist’. Among the general public, his work is sometimes considered rather challenging. At the same time, many Flemish artists and intellectuals view him with awe: neo-avant-gardists, cartoonists, writers and visual artists alike – from Hugo Claus to Van Breedam and Kamagurka – have all expressed their admiration for the artist. 

Let yourself be surprised by an artist who refused to be constrained by rules or aesthetic expectations.