The Fifties (1956)
11 PAINTINGS
In the 1950s, Van Hoeydonck and Verstockt were two standard-bearers of artistic renewal in Antwerp. Between 1958 and 1962, Van Hoeydonck participated with G 58 in the Antwerp Hessenhuis in a series of exhibitions through which the young generation connected with the international avant-garde of the time. For his part, Verstockt was not a member of G 58, nor of the New Flemish School, but he was familiar with their pursuit of artistic innovation. The works in this museum space actually date from just before, when both artists were fully experimenting with form and color. The works on the back wall and on the side walls are by Paul Van Hoeydonck. Although they are slightly more lyrical than Verstockt's more pithy compositions (on the wall dividing the space), they both suggest an image of the fifties as momentum for young artists who, in a search for new forms, were able to indulge their enthusiasm for the regained future.