1981
This stained glass window is made up of fifteen consecutive elements. The equal distribution of
basic geometrical shapes is accompanied by a regular repetition of colours. They return several times but each time in different forms and at different heights. This integration is perfect because the composition is an essential part of the wall itself and at the same time fulfils a luminous function.
The geometric abstraction shows its search for balance in the shapes as well as in the colours. Horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines are linked to one another and alternate with a square, a rectangle and a triangle. Add to this the relation with the geometrical metal construction of the roof, the effects of the light, the colour and luminosity of the glass and you will obtain a wall and a space
which radiate with character and beauty.
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JAN BURSSENS (1925 – 2002)
Jan Burssens trained at the Academies in Mechelen and Ghent. He produced figurative paintings with an expressionist touch and then moved more towards lyrical abstraction. He was a founding member of “Art Abstrait”(Abstract Art). But he left this artistic group only a year later. He intuitively felt that pictorial reasoning based on nonfigurative, strictly constructive principles could not satisfy him as
an artist. A grant from UNESCO enabled him to travel to the US and stay in New York. This trip left
a clear mark on his work and his style tended towards more and more recognisable figuration.
He painted a series of portraits: John F. Kennedy, Adolf Hitler and Marilyn Monroe. From the 1960s tonwards, landscapes also featured in Jan Burssens’s work. He also included other materials in his paintings, such as sand, stones, gravel and various pieces of debris. However, he limited his use of these materials since for a real painter, paint is the main element and is an unsurpassed medium.
Pictures