Mart de Houwer
Biography
1931 Born in Zonhoven, Belgium
Married to Leon Winter
1955 _ Son Michael is born
1988 _ The province of Limburg buys a drawing for the new Provincial Home “ Untitled” (for the amount of 12.000 Fr. )
1968 _ Moved to new address in Zonhoven
1971 _ Evening school for art
1980 _ Silver State Medal for Drawing
1982 _ First Exhibition
1984 _ The minister of the Flemishcommunity buys three drawings (Lijn, 0,5 Pentel marker MS 50 Lijn, 0,10 Pentel marker MS 50 Lijn, 0,20 Pentel Marker MS 50), for the total sum of 75.000 Fr. They are displayed in Kon. Gem. Min. Binnenlandse Aangelegen- heden & Ruimtelijke ordering
1990 _ Travel to Carrara, Italy, to create sculptures in white marble
1999 _ Died at the age as a result of pancreas cancer.
Influences
Fundamental Art
In the early 1970s several painters have been working independently, some for years, on the essential idea of ‘pure’ painting. It was only a matter of time before the art world, especially the art- galleries would catch up. One of the first exhibitions with a clear underlying concept was “Une exposition de peinture reunnissant pertains painters qui mettraient la peinture en question” curated by Michel Claura and Rene Denizot. It opened in the spring of 1973 in Paris and later travelled to Antwerp and Monchengladbach. Daniel Buren, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Robert Ryman and several others participated. Several other exhibitions followed in 1973 and in 1974, but the most influential was the exhibition “Fundamentele schilderkunst / Fundamental painting” in 1975 in The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. This exhibition represented artists of the ‘new painting’ movement who are involved first and foremost with the
basic principle of painting. They restricted themselves to anti-illusionist painting in which all compositional elements are absent. It showed works by Jaap Berghuis, Raimund Girke, Robert Mangold, Brice Marden, Agnes Martin, Tomas Rajlich, Gerard Richter, Robert Ryman, Marthe Wéry and others. It was the first time artist like Martin and Mangold were shown in The Netherlands. The exhibition gave name to this movement in the art world and had a great impact to the Dutch and Belgian Art world.
In the same year of “ Fundamentele schilderkunst / Fundamental painting” another highly influential exhibition took place. In may 1975 the exhibition ‘Elementary Forms of Contemporary Painting and Drawing in The Netherlands’ opened in Germany. Here artists were represented who focus on the reality within the actual painting and drawing. This exhibition included works by Dutch artists like JCJ van der Heyden, Tomas Rajlich, Jaap Berghuis, Rob van Koningsbruggen, Jan Schoon- hoven, Carel Visser and others.
Belgian art Across Europe the ideas of Fundamental art inspired artists. In Belgium it resonated with artists like André Beullens, Amédée Cortier, Jo Delahaut, Marthe Wéry, (included in the 1975 exhibition in Amsterdam), Dan Van Severen and Raoul De Keyser. Raoul De Keyser (1930-2012) was a contemporary of Mart de Houwer. He is connected to fundamental art. De Keyser’s art is a continuous search to the foundations of art, being an abstract version of reality. There is reality and there is art and there is the reality of art, which is autonomous. De Keyser exhibited his work all over Belgium and abroad. In 1987 and 1988 he showed his work at “Vereniging voor Culturele Informatie & Actueel Prentenkabinet” (CIAP) Hasselt, the organisation which Mart de Houwer cofounded. Her personal collection included some of his drawings.
The fundamental artwork
A painting is not just a flat object in which each picture of space is an illusion: it also is a square or rectangular object, consisting of linen and a wedged frame, covered with paint on one side. It’s a tangible object. A drawing consists of ink or graphite on a surface of paper with a specific size.Awards
1980 _ Silver State Medal for Drawing
Exhibitions
| 1982, “Mart De Houwer & Paul Sochacki”, C.I.A.P. Hasselt, BE (drawing) | 1985, “Gespannen Stilte”, PNT, Tienen, BE, (together with Ria Bijnens, Luc Coeckelberghs, Johan Creten, Jean Decoster, Freek Dumarais, Jean- Georges Massart, organised by Jos Uytterhoeven)
| 1988, “Het Limburgs Kunstjuweel”, Cultureel centrum Genk,BE (together with Willy Ceysens, Ricky Plaghki, Raf Verjans
| 1989, St. Aldegondiskerkje, As, BE (silver) (together with Staf Beerten, Rik Hamblok Raoul Chanet, Jan Hoogsteyns, Paule Nolens, etc.).
| 1989, “Tekeningen, Mart de Houwer & Marie-Jeanne Cilissen”, PNL, Tienen, BEv
| 1991, “One Size Many Views” groupshow
| 1992, “Kunst staat in de weg”, Hoegaarden, BE (together with Guy Bleus, Fred BOFFIN, Peter de Cleyn, H. Van den Broecke, J.C., Fem Zwaag, Jean Decoster, Hugo de Small, Johan de Craemer)
| 1993, “One Size, Many Views”, Provinciaal Instituut voor Cultuur & Sport, Neerpelt, BE (together with Herman Maes, Walter Daems,
Wout Vercammen, etc)
| 1997, “18 kunstenaars uit Limburg, St. Aldegondiskerkje, As, BE
Showing all 5 artworks
Mart de Houwer
Untitled, 1975-1985
24 x 6.5 x 6.5 cm Bronze, white marble base
Mart de Houwer
Untitled, knot, 1975-1985
22 x 5 x 5 cm bronze, wooden base
Mart de Houwer
Untitled, triangle, 1975-1985
37 x 18 x 11 cm bronze, granite base
Mart de Houwer
Untitled, triangle, 1975-1985
21 x 22.3 x 2 cm aluminium