Roger Raveel: 'Even terugschouwen'.next exhibition previous exhibition

‘In 500 years they will record how important I have been. Art history moves in cycles of about 500 years. The first peak was the Van Eycks. The second peak was Roger Raveel.’ The Flemish artist Roger Raveel (Machelen-aan-de-Leie 1921) became a central figure in modern art from around 1950 and is one of the greatest living Belgian artists. This year, Raveel turned the venerable age of 90. In celebration of his birthday, the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem will present a large retrospective exhibition, Roger Raveel: ‘Looking Back’, with a representative selection of 120 paintings and drawings from over 70 years.

Around 1950, Raveel developed his New Vision, which was known as New Figuration in the Netherlands. In contrast to most modern art right after the war, from the very beginning Raveel created paintings and drawings representing things that he borrowed from his immediate environment. The village where he was born, and where he still lives and works, Machelen-aan-de-Leie, is an important source of inspiration for his work. Over time, the ‘things around him’ acquired cosmic significance in his work so that originally figurative elements gradually developed into more abstract forms. Many of his pieces are assemblages which can include living material. For instance, the exhibition features the 1965 triptych ‘The awfully beautiful life’ which includes a bird cage with live canaries. In terms of his interest in images from everyday life, Raveel shows an affinity with American artists like Robert Rauschenberg, but he also draws on the images and styles of earlier artists; the Van Eyck brothers, Giotto, Van Gogh, Mondrian and Malevich were significant influences on Raveel’s New Vision.

Although Raveel has inspired artists like Raoul De Keyzer, Reinier Lucassen and Hannes Postma, his work is difficult to categorize; he is, in fact, unique. Raveel met with more success in the Netherlands, perhaps, than in his home country. He first displayed his work in the Netherlands in 1965 in an exhibition at the Espace Gallery in Amsterdam, which would remain the most important place for sales of his work until the death of gallery owner Eva Bendien in 2000. This led directly to the acquisition of diverse works of Raveel by public and private Dutch collections. The Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem, for instance, owns a collection of works by this Belgian master, including the monumental key piece ‘The 1978 painting parade in Machelen-aan-de-Leie.’ For this exhibition works have been borrowed from The Netherlands Institute for Cultural Heritage (Collectie Nederland) and a number of public and private Belgian collections, of which the Raveelmuseum in Machelen-aan-de-Leie is the most important.

In connection with the exhibition, d’jonge Hond publishers in Zwolle have put out a lavishly illustrated book with contributions by Carel Blotkamp, Ype Koopmans, Stefan Kuiper and Charlotte Mutsaers.

In addition, a special book for children has been published as the first in a new museum series.

Finally, a documentary, The wondrous world of Roger Raveel (De wondere wereld van Roger Raveel), has been produced by Oogland Film productions in collaboration with Flemish broadcasting network VRT, the Roger Raveelmuseum in Machelen-aan-de-Leie and the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem.