RENÉ HEYVAERT

In his brief involvement in architecture, in Belgium and the United States, using modern and simple housing constructions, René Heyvaert applied some principles that would define all his artistic work. This he consistently developed from the early seventies onwards, experimenting with shapes and materials, appropriating natural elements such as branches and trunks that he would then alter and reshape into rods or totems. But he also used everyday elements such as wallpaper, matchboxes, tin cans or cereal boxes. His drawings on lined and graph paper make up very consistent groups that reveal the possibilities of seriation and variation. His works of mail art (more than 200 postcards sent to 40 recipients), made of cut-out supports and objects, form a random playful setting.

This exhibition proposes a reconsideration and global rereading of his work, starting with an exhibition of his architecture, and organising the works in groups according to the words of the artist: permutation, assemblies and repetition, like life itself.

This exhibition is being held in partnership with the M-Museum Leuven (Belgium).Both exhibits share the same core, consisting of a selection of works from public and private collections from Belgium, as well as from the Estate René Heyvaert collection, deposited in the Clearing Gallery (Brussels - New York).