Yvon Vandycke is an expressionist painter from Mons. 2020 marked the twentieth anniversary of his death. This was the ideal occasion for us to acknowledge his little-known work by organising an extensive retrospective exhibition at the Boverie Museum, in harmony with the Trinkhall’s Faces/Borders theme. In Vandycke’s work, the condition of the body is a running theme in his writing, painting, etching and drawing. The face has a curious relationship with unrest, rebellion, fraternity and the splendour of the body. The border comes first: he reveals and he hides. He also blinds you with women’s bodies, headless women, women depicted from behind, sometimes to the point of disappearance. Or, on the other hand, he contaminates every form, sliding eyes into the folds of a stomach, on a haunted background, depicting dreams.

Yvon Vandycke, Good Night People, painting, oil and acrylic on paper mounted on wood,
Private collection.

Good Night People!  Vandycke presented us with this huge face drowning in its own reflection at the end of the 20^th century when he passed away. Representing decades of bloodshed in mass graves, this is a violent Vandycke facing a troubled world. It is amazingly relevant. It has all the power of expressionism and colours that wipe out any reluctances searching for distraction. The painting is a testament; its aim is not to please you. You have to accept that you are looking right at yourself. As Oppenheimer would point out, “See yourself from the inside as responsible and, from the outside, as ridiculous.”

However, Vandycke could also hold on to his tenderness. In the heart of the workshop… 

The joint Boverie/Trinkhall exhibition will show key pieces from the 60s and 70s, but also some from the 80s and 90s that are haunted by wild transformation, the inevitable movement of vibrant life in women’s bodies. Some smaller formats and incomplete works will be included. For Vandycke, a picture has no ending or beginning; drawing and paintings move together, each flowing from the other: it is a shared existence. To the say the very least…