Mart de Houwer Belgium, 1931-1991

Overview
In my work I have returned to one of the most primary elements of art: the line. The line is an autonomous fact for which the factors patience, effort and labour are decisive.
Mart de Houwer (born 29 March 1931 in Zonhoven, Belgium; died 24 April 1999) was a Belgian artist best known for her lifelong exploration of the line as an artistic and expressive element. Over roughly two decades—from 1979 until her passing in 1999—she developed a highly individual body of work encompassing drawings, paintings, and sculptures
Biography
Mart de Houwer
In my work I have returned to one of the most primary elements of art: the line. The line is an autonomous fact for which the factors patience, effort and labour are decisive. For me it is not so much about artistic creation as an intellectual activity, but rather about graphic labor as such. The physical exertion leads me to psychic distraction. Creating these surfaces is a form of meditation for me, which brings concentration and tranquility. Mart de Houwer, 1982

Mart de Houwer (born 29 March 1931, Zonhoven, Belgium; died 24 April 1999) was a deeply introspective and singular artist whose lifelong exploration of the line defined her remarkably coherent and meditative body of work 

Early Life & Artistic Awakening

Raised in the semi-rural landscapes around Zonhoven, young Mart de Houwer’s creative spark was nurtured through simple encounters—she once used discarded paint tubes picked up during walks to decorate her father’s cigar boxes. Her formal engagement with visual expression began later: in 1971, she enrolled in evening art classes at the Municipal Academy of Fine Arts in Genk, expanding her technical foundation under teachers such as Raf Mailleux and Piet Stockmans.


Focus & Style: The Line as Lifework

From around 1979, de Houwer devoted herself entirely to what would become her lifelong artistic pursuit: the line. Across drawings, paintings, and sculptures, she created works comprised of thousands—even hundreds of thousands—of drawn lines. These works often feature monochromatic, calm surfaces that reveal subtle emotional shifts, fatigue, and rhythm through slight deviations in line weight or straightness

Sculptural Explorations: Line in Three Dimensions

Beyond paper and canvas, de Houwer translated her fascination with line into sculptural forms—working in marble, bronze, and steel. Through motifs such as triangles and knots, she explored how line could articulate form in space. Noteworthy are her small bronze knots from the mid-1980s and marble sculptures made during a 1990 residency in Carrara, Italy

Minimalism, Fundamental Art & Quiet Radicalism

De Houwer’s artistic vision aligned with the Fundamental Art or new fundamentalist movement of the 1970s, which valued anti-illusionist abstraction and the essential principles of composition. Influential exhibitions like the 1975 Fundamentele schilderkunst at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam contextualized her work within a broader European search for visual purity and restraint

Life Balance & Legacy

Throughout her creative career, de Houwer remained grounded in the rhythms of ordinary life. She worked with her husband at a local dairy factory—only making time for art in her own quiet, disciplined manner. She neither pursued fame nor commercialization; exhibitions and institutional recognition came rarely and only upon invitation.

Key Milestones at a Glance

  • 1980: Awarded the Silver State Medal for Drawing

  • 1982: Held her first solo exhibition (C.I.A.P., Hasselt)

  • 1984: Three drawings purchased by the Minister of the Flemish Community for public display

  • 1988: Drawing acquired for the Provincial Home of Limburg

  • 1990: Travelled to Carrara to work on marble sculptures—showing her commitment to craft across materials.

  • 1999: Passed away at age 68, of pancreatic cancer