1930 - 2001

Died in Brussels (BE), born in Antwerp (BE).

The life and works of Alfons Hoppenbrouwers (1930-2001), a member of the congregation of the Broeders van de Christelijke Scholen (Brothers of the Christian Schools), are characterised by a greater social and pedagogical involvement, behind which an artistic or culturally bound vision can be found.

Besides being an architect, a teacher and the co-founder of the St-Lukas Archive, he is also an abstract painter. As an architect, one can see links to Modernism and Constructivism, influenced by the work of Le Corbusier and the Dutch art movement De Stijl.

He is sometimes considered to be part of so-called "Brutalism", because of his striking use of concrete and glass constructions as bearers of the outward form, which is subjected to the functional requirements of the inner.

As a visual artist, he often works with abstract oppositions – figure versus background – and cognitive installations of complicated scientific calculations. These abstract-geometric acrylic paintings – more than 600 in total – are based on the relationship of numbers and series, which are inspired by the music of Bach. The series of paintings under the title Die Kunst der Fuge - BWV 1080 (The Art of the Fugue) consists of canons and counterpoint compositions, just as in the work with the same name by Bach. This is how the artist wishes to show the importance of scientific patterns; not only in architectural calculations, but also in musical scores and even on canvas.