Glasal panels applied at a 45° angle (1988)
Because of the many limitations imposed on Jan Van den Abbeel by the outside surface of Delta station, the work of art turned out to be a real challenge. However the total cost could not exceed that of a normal wall protection. The one hundred hexagonal windows had to remain free in order to let enough light through into the station. A diagonal and cruciform rhythm, where white dominates and where all the available colours alternate in a uniform fashion has been integrated into the horizontal and vertical construction of the station. The cross-shaped strips and shapes refer to the rails and tracks whereas the flat surfaces refer to the platforms. The tiles were applied diagonally, but this was no problem for the artist, who had already used an oblique composition several times in the past. Just like a metro ride, the movement, the energy and the static aspect follow on from each other.
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JAN VAN DEN ABBEEL (1943 – 2018)
Together with two other artists (Willy Plompen and Yves De Smet), Jan Van Den Abbeel makes up the “PLUS” group, who aim to give concrete expression to a new relationship between the work of art and the optical environment. He created a visual work which rejects all lyricism and emotion, and in which only the colours and the structural elements create the optical effects and the rhythmic movements. The aim is to integrate the result into the environment and living space. This artist belongs to the non-figurative, geometrical construc-tion movement. A real constructivist works systematically, accepts a structural base and constructs a painting upon it. The creation of such a work of art is dependent on the interaction between freedom and discipline.
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