Fred Bervoets
©image: M HKA
° 1942
Born in Burcht (BE), lives in Antwerp (BE).
As a painter, graphic artist and teacher, Fred Bervoets (b. 1942) is a living legend in the Antwerp art scene. Artistically, he is a man of extremes: he paints expressive, highly populated scenes on wall-filling canvases, in a style that is poised between post-Cobra and Fauvism. At the same time he is the patron and promoter of the noble craft of printmaking. With great attention to detail in his line drawings, he engraves his etchings with nitric acid in zinc printing plates. Initially, his etchings are autonomous creations, yet gradually he starts utilising the engraving technique as a base to be finished and overpainted afterwards. This results in a varied, almost playful oeuvre that is always based on his own life and environment, and that can best be described as an Ensorian mishmash of self-mockery and irony. Bervoets often places a caricature of himself amidst the scenes he depicts; as such, his work reveals itself as a direct representation of his vision of the world. That world is crowded and ramshackle, full of anecdotal references and reminiscences. His visible enthusiasm and artistic vitality make him a valued teacher at the Art Academy of Antwerp, where for decades he has transmitted his vision and craftsmanship to new generations who see in him a direct descendant of the classical Old Masters.
Text: Hans Willemse
Translations: Michael Meert
>Fred Bervoets, De aanbidding, 1967.Mixed Media, geschilderde ets, papier op doek, 40 x 30 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, De Gezegende Nederlaag, 1971.Painting, oil on canvas, 237 x 275 x 5.5 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, Karel Schoetens, Jef Lambrecht, Oprichting Museum voor Moderne Kunst, 1983.Happening, paper, ink (printing), variable.
>Fred Bervoets, Karel Schoetens, Jef Lambrecht, Knipsel Nieuwjaars-museum, 1983.Article, paper, ink (printing), 12 x 18 cm.
>Pierre Vlerick , Roger Wittevrongel , Jan Vanriet, Hugo Duchateau, Mark Luyten, Walter Swennen, Ado Hamelryck, Fred Bervoets, Philippe Vandenberg, Marcel van Jole, Negen hedendaagse tekenaars uit Vlaanderen, 1985.Book, ink, paper, 29.6 x 21 cm, 24 p., language : Dutch, publisher : ICC/Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen.
>Fred Bervoets, Fred Bervoets [ t i : j k e n e ], 1985.Book, ink, paper, 29.5 x 21 cm, 28 p., language : Dutch, English, publisher : ICC/Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen.
>Roger Wittevrongel , Fred Bervoets, Francky Cane , 6 x 2, 1991.Invitation Card, print on paper, 21 x 15 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, Nevada, 1991.Other, ink, paper, canvas, 300 x 1500 cm .
>Fred Bervoets, Hommage aan van Gogh, eenzaam café [Hommage to van Gogh: Lonely Café], 1991.Painting, acrylic, canvas, 320 x 203 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, Zelfportret in huiskamer [Self-Portrait in Living Room], 1991.Painting, acrylic, canvas, 194 x 205 cm.
>Francky Cane , Fred Bervoets, 3 x 3, 1992.Invitation Card, prin on paper, 11 x 21 cm.
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>Fred Bervoets, Doorsnee Vlaamse Familie, 1995.Drawing, paper, canvas, , 200 x 280 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, Hello Frie(n)ds, Come In, 2005.Painting.
>Liliane Vertessen, Dirk Vander Eecken, Bart Stolle, Panamarenko, Willo Gonnissen, Nick Ervinck, Hugo Duchateau, Ronny Delrue, Jean Bilquin, Fred Bervoets, Philip Aguirre y Otegui , Francky Cane , Groot {gedrukt}, 2007.Invitation Card, print on paper, 10,5 x 21 cm.
>Fred Bervoets, Welcome Home (Hommage aan Fred Bervoets), 2007.Book, ink, paper, 23.5 x 17.5 cm, 76 p., language : Dutch, publisher : J.P. De Paepe, Brugge in collaboration with MuHKA Museum van Hedendaagse Kunst Antwerpen, ISBN : 9789077064115.
Exhibitions & Ensembles
> Exhibition: 3 x 3. 20 jaar Frans Masereel Centrum. 12 November 1992 - 24 December 1992.
> Exhibition: 6 x 2. 05 May 1991 - 23 June 1991.
> Exhibition: EXTRA MUROS: Despuès del arte / After Art. 02 October 2009 - 15 November 2009.
> Exhibition: EXTRA MUROS: Visite Herzele – Beyond words. 03 April 2015 - 03 May 2015.
> Exhibition: First Museum Modern Art. 31 December 1983 - 01 January 1984.
> Exhibition: Groot {gedrukt}. 27 October 2007 - 09 December 2007.
> Exhibition: INBOX: Herinneringen aan Montevideo: De Antwerpse Avant-Garde in de vroeger jaren '80. Deel 2: 1983-1984. 15 July 2016 - 07 August 2016.
> Exhibition: Middle Gate Geel '13. 29 September 2013 - 19 January 2014.
> Exhibition: Salon de Peinture. 17 January 2019 - 31 March 2019.
> Exhibition: Sanguine/Bloedrood. Luc Tuymans on Baroque. 01 June 2018 - 16 September 2018.
> Exhibition: The collection III – Spring 2003, with Interventions by Gert Robijns, Wilhelm Sasnal & Bojan Fajfric. 22 February 2003 - 18 May 2003.
> Exhibition: The collection II – Winter 2002. 23 November 2002 - 09 February 2003.
> Exhibition: The collection XX: Jubilee. Who's got the Big Picture?. 29 June 2007 - 18 November 2007.
> Exhibition: The collection XXXII – Personality Test + The Book Lovers. 07 December 2012 - 21 April 2013.
> Exhibition: Welcome Home. Hommage aan Fred Bervoets. 07 September 2007 - 07 October 2007.
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> Ensemble: Action Etching.
> Ensemble: ARCHIEF JEF LAMBRECHT.
> Ensemble: Belgian Institute for World Affairs.
> Ensemble: Collectie Vlaamse Gemeenschap.
> Ensemble: ESTATE JEF LAMBRECHT.
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> Ensemble: Francky Cane - Invitations Group Exhibitions.
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> Ensemble: ICC_Publications.
> Ensemble: M HKA_DEFAULT_PUBLICATIONS.
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> Ensemble: M HKA_DEFAULT_WORKS.
> Ensemble: Middle Gate.
> Ensemble: NUCLEUS.
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> Ensemble: Self-Portrait in Living Room.