Danny Matthys (born 1947 in

Zottegem Zottegem (, Sotteghem and Sottegem in older English and French language sources) is a city and municipality located in Belgium and more particularly in Flanders, in the province of East Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Zottegem pr ...

) is a Flemish - Belgian visual artist, which was originally known as conceptual artist of international reputation. In the beginning of his career in the 1960s, he was a pioneer in

Polaroid art Polaroid art is a type of alternative photography which consists of modifying an instant picture, usually while it is being developed. The most common types of Polaroid art are the emulsion lift, the Polaroid transfer and emulsion manipulation. ...

and

Video art Video art is an art form which relies on using video technology as a visual and audio medium. Video art emerged during the late 1960s as new consumer video technology such as video tape recorders became available outside corporate broadcasting. V ...

Biography

In 1977, there were two simultaneous exhibition in the

Van Abbemuseum The Van Abbemuseum () in Eindhoven is one of the first public museums for contemporary art to be established in Europe. The museum’s collection includes key works and archives by Joseph Beuys, Marc Chagall, René Daniëls, Marlene Dumas, Shee ...

in Eindhoven and the

Bonnefantenmuseum The Bonnefanten Museum is a museum of historic, modern and contemporary art in Maastricht, Netherlands. History The museum was founded in 1884 as the historical and archaeological museum for the Dutch province of Limburg (Netherlands), Limburg. ...

in Maastricht, in the Netherlands, with mainly conceptual work. He is a conceptual artist with respect in Europe. In that time, the Dutch

Ger van Elk Ger van Elk (9 March 1941 – 17 August 2014) was a Dutch artist who created sculptures, painted photographs, installations and film. His work has been described as being both conceptual art and arte povera. Between 1959 and 1988 he lived and wor ...

and

Jan Dibbets Jan Dibbets (born 9 May 1941, in Weert) is an Amsterdam-based Dutch conceptual artist. His work is influenced by mathematics and works mainly with photography. Life and career In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he started as an art teacher at ...

are also important as European conceptual artists and

Joseph Kosuth Joseph Kosuth (; born January 31, 1945) is a Hungarian-American conceptual artist, who lives in New York and Venice,

is a big name in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. From the mid-1970s Danny Matthys created the development of artistic training at the Urban Arts Institute in

Ghent Ghent ( ; ; historically known as ''Gaunt'' in English) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the Provinces of Belgium, province ...

. Given the many winners in several national art competitions it was quite valued. His partner there was Eric De Volder, a locally very famous Flemish experimental theater maker. It was a successful educational experiment that was closely linked to the brand new Flemish Ministry of Culture and Flemish Affairs, a forerunner of the current Flemish Culture Ministry. From the 1980s, Matthys uses more traditional techniques.

Assemblage (art) Assemblage is an artistic form or medium usually created on a defined substrate that consists of three-dimensional elements projecting out of or from the substrate. It is similar to collage, a two-dimensional medium. It is part of the visual ar ...

on the basis of strange antique photo series,

collage Collage (, from the , "to glue" or "to stick together") is a technique of art creation, primarily used in the visual arts, but in music too, by which art results from an assembly of different forms, thus creating a new whole. (Compare with pasti ...

photo mozaiec and oil painting do their entry in his oeuvre.

Australia

In the late 1980s, Matthys made several trips to Australia. He has seriously considered emigrating. He has had exhibitions in, among others, the Art Gallery of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, together with the starting up

Wim Delvoye Wim Delvoye (born 1965 in Wervik, West Flanders) is a Belgian neo-conceptual artist widely recognized for combining in his inventive and often shocking projects philosophical ideas, innovative use of materials, and a passion for craftsmanship. ...

and created projects with the Australian film - composer Peter Best. He has also worked on the old and the new art of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

. He shares experience with Flemish - Belgian dr. Georges Petitjean, who as curator of the in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

, Netherlands, curated a number of exhibitions in which Indigenous Australian and European art were included. However, several serious setbacks in the private atmosphere forced Danny Matthys finally to return to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Art Trip

He later reworks his former

and even

- series with a very personal pointillist technique, in which he has owned several old and modern aboriginal - techniques. Since the early 1990s, he started with what is still best described as

Mosaic A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...

or monumental 'tile fragments-

'. This process also makes a connection with his older monumental photo -

- work and his more recent pointillistic method. It gives a strong sense of indestructible timelessness. His early

video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...

from the 1960s and early 1970s was restored and better protected from the ravages of time by Argos Foundation in Brussels, with the support of the

Flemish Community The Flemish Community (, ) is one of the three institutional communities of Belgium, established by the Belgian constitution and having legal responsibilities only within the precise geographical boundaries of the Dutch-language area and of the ...

Curriculum

His work is part of several museum collections such as the

Museum of Modern Art, Antwerp The Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (, commonly abbreviated as ''M HKA'', previously ''MuHKA'') is the contemporary art museum of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. Its current director is Bart de Baere. Overview The museum holds a permanent co ...

and many private collections in Europe and abroad. Danny Matthys is today a major name in the Flemish "Art - lending " project. Matthys discontinued a few years ago a rich career as a lecturer in art education. He was co-founder and professor of the Department

Mixed Media In visual art, mixed media describes work of art, artwork in which more than one Art medium, medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different List of art media, media. M ...

within the KASK (art academy) of

Hogeschool Gent HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts (University College Ghent, ), often shortened to just HOGENT, is the largest university college in Flanders, with seven faculties, one School of Arts and over 17,000 students as of 2022.SMAK Smak ( sr-Cyrl, Смак; trans. ''The end time'') was a Serbian and SFRY, Yugoslav band from Kragujevac. The group reached the peak of popularity in the 1970s when it was one of the most notable acts of the yu rock, former Yugoslav rock scene. T ...

in Ghent is a huge work of him, made up of dozens of life-sized busts in pigmented concrete that is quite indestructible fixed in front of the famous museum. The work was previously conceived in an impressive horizontal drafting. Founding SMAK Director and Curator of

Documenta Documenta (often stylized documenta) is an Art exhibition, exhibition of contemporary art which takes place every five years in Kassel, Germany. Documenta was founded by artist, teacher and curator Arnold Bode in 1955 as part of the Bundesgarte ...

IX in

Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), central Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Regierungsbezirk Kassel (region), Kassel and the d ...

in 1992.

Jan Hoet Knight Jan Hoet (; 23 June 1936 – 27 February 2014) was the Belgian founder of SMAK (''Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst'' or Municipal Museum for Contemporary Art) in Ghent, Belgium. Biography Jan Hoet was born in Leuven, Belgium. Throu ...

wanted ultimately to hang it on the museum left frontwall.

Documenta 14

His well-known conceptual photo work 'Brabantdam 59, Downstairs-Upstairs' of 1975, part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp

M HKA The Museum of Contemporary Art in Antwerp (, commonly abbreviated as ''M HKA'', previously ''MuHKA'') is the contemporary art museum of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. Its current director is Bart de Baere. Overview The museum holds a permanent co ...

, was loaned for a long term at the

National Museum of Contemporary Art, Athens The National Museum of Contemporary Art (EMST Εθνικό Μουσείο Σύγχρονης Τέχνης (ΕΜΣΤ)), is a national museum focused on exhibiting contemporary Greek and international art in Athens. It was established in October 200 ...

(EMST) and was selected for the

Fridericianum The Fridericianum is a museum in Kassel, Germany. Built in 1779, it is one of the oldest public museums in Europe.

during the

Documenta 14 Documenta 14 was the fourteenth edition of the art exhibition documenta which took place in 2017 in both Kassel, Germany, its traditional home, and Athens, Greece. It was held first in Athens from 8 April to 16 July, and in Kassel from 10 Ju ...

2017 in the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

is the most important international contemporary art manifestation worldwide.

Sports, study and training

In his youth, Matthys was a gifted

cyclist Cycling, also known as bicycling or biking, is the activity of riding a bicycle or other types of pedal-driven human-powered vehicles such as balance bikes, unicycles, tricycles, and quadricycles. Cycling is practised around the world fo ...

in the category of 'promises', together with

André Dierickx André Dierickx (born 29 October 1947) is a Belgian former professional Bicycle road racing, road racing cyclist who competed between 1969 and 1981. He competed in the Cycling at the 1968 Summer Olympics – Men's individual road race, individua ...

, which later won famous classics such as the

La Flèche Wallonne La Flèche Wallonne (, French for "The Walloon Arrow") is a men's professional cycle road race held in April each year in Wallonia, Belgium. It is part of the UCI World Tour. The first of two Belgian Ardennes classics, La Flèche Wallonne is ...

, but a very serious accident during the last years of his humanities studies in Ghent and a long rehabilitation, gave his life a strong new direction. Matthys first studied Textile Design at the

Hogeschool Gent HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts (University College Ghent, ), often shortened to just HOGENT, is the largest university college in Flanders, with seven faculties, one School of Arts and over 17,000 students as of 2022.Hogeschool Gent HOGENT University of Applied Sciences and Arts (University College Ghent, ), often shortened to just HOGENT, is the largest university college in Flanders, with seven faculties, one School of Arts and over 17,000 students as of 2022.Hugo Debaere(† 1994),

Roger Raveel Roger Henri Kamiel, Knight Raveel (15 July 1921 – 30 January 2013) was a Belgian painter, whose work is often associated with pop art because of its depiction of everyday objects. Raveel's style evolved throughout his career, from abstract to ...

, Marthe Wery,

Jan Vercruysse Jan Vercruysse (3 October 1948 – 27 February 2018) was a Belgian contemporary visual artist, sculptor and photographer. Life and work Vercruysse was born in Ostend and died in Bruges, both Flemish municipalities in Belgium. Prior to becoming ...

Jan Fabre Jan Fabre (born 14 December 1958) is a versatile Belgian artist known for his contributions to theater, literature, and visual arts. With a career spanning nearly four decades, Fabre has established himself as an influential figure in the artist ...

Joseph Beuys Joseph Heinrich Beuys ( ; ; 12 May 1921 – 23 January 1986) was a German artist, teacher, performance artist, and Aesthetics, art theorist whose work reflected concepts of humanism and sociology. With Heinrich Böll, , Caroline Tisdall, Rober ...

(† 1986) and Nick Ervinck.

References, sources and external links

Packed/ Art Gallery of New South Wales, Australia Open Library Argos Art Preservation BrusselsPacked Danny MatthysMUHKA Museum of Modern Art of Antwerp - Permanent Collection
*
/ Danny Matthys SMAK/ Hugo Debaere SMAK - Dutch - English Ghent Art Days 1986 Chamres D'AmisPMMK Museum of Modern Art of West Flandres County, Ostend Belgium

Museum voor Contemporary Aborigines Art at Utrecht, The NetherlandsDocumenta 14 Shanghaidaily
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthys, Danny 1947 births Belgian contemporary artists Living people Belgian installation artists Artists from Ghent Belgian collage artists