Ignace De Graeve (

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 ...

, 24 September 1940 –

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

, 17 January 2016) was a Belgian artist, who also used the name Graba. He created mainly paintings and jewellery.

Biography

Graba' enjoyed a very

eclectic Eclectic may refer to: Music * ''Eclectic'' (Eric Johnson and Mike Stern album), 2014 * ''Eclectic'' (Big Country album), 1996 * Eclectic Method, name of an audio-visual remix act * Eclecticism in music, the conscious use of styles alien to th ...

education first in history, followed by

decorative arts ] The decorative arts are arts or crafts whose aim is the design and manufacture of objects that are both beautiful and functional. This includes most of the objects for the interiors of buildings, as well as interior design, but typically excl ...

(Ghent) and finally audiovisual media (Paris). For eight years, he was a critic for the Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroep, Belgian Radio and Television, hosting radio programs of classical music, and gave lectures on 'how to listen to music' in several cities. He led an international design agency for five years and provided numerous institutions, societies and companies with a new brand image. As artistic director of "language of forms" he was responsible for the creation and realisation of the Belgian pavilion for the 1985

World's fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition, is a large global exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specific site for a perio ...

Tsukuba, Ibaraki is a city located in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan. As of January 1, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 256,526 in 121,001 households and a population density of 900 persons per km2. The percentage of the population aged over 65 wa ...

, the Flanders Hotel in Gent, the Flemish-Japanese golf club in Hasselt, and the Markies Building in

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

and buildings in Hong Kong and Singapore. He lived in Paris since 1979 and worked in France, Belgium and Portugal.

Works

Graba' created his paintings and jewels in cycles. He found inspiration in eastern as well as western themes. Graba' wanted to shock by painting in a deliberative figurative manner as a so-called "new" old master. He painted on large wooden panels, applying many layers of paint and ink, based on the

glacis A glacis (, ) in military engineering is an artificial slope as part of a medieval castle or in early modern fortresses. They may be constructed of earth as a temporary structure or of stone in more permanent structure. More generally, a glaci ...

technique, giving the work a unique luminosity and transparency. His jewels were crafted through the

lost wax technique Lost-wax castingalso called investment casting, precision casting, or ''cire perdue'' (; borrowed from French)is the process by which a duplicate sculpture (often a metal, such as silver, gold, brass, or bronze) is cast from an original sculpt ...

. After centrifugal casting in 750/1000 alloy, the mould was broken and destroyed meaning only one original existed.

Cycles/exhibitions

*1976 – "Garden of Delights" (inspiration: ''

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' () is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panels painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. Bos ...

'' of

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

);

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

– Sint-Martens-Latem *1976 – "The Mystery of Light" (inspiration: the 12 hours of the day), Museum of Modern Art – Sint-Martens-Latem *1977 – "The Mystic of Islam" (inspiration: the religion of

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

), the Castel of Zeist, the Egmont Palace in Brussels, Etienne de Causans Gallery in Paris, the Art Museum of Tehran (Iran). 1978 – "Tantra" (inspiration: the ritual of

Tantra Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the India, Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Greater India, Indian tr ...

), the Reserve Knokke *1978 – "The Painter and his model" (portraits), the Reserve Knokke *1979 – "Apocalypse" (inspiration: the book of

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

), the City Theatre of Courtrai, Nardowe National Museum of Warschau, Museum Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg, Palau Virreina Barcelona *1980 – "The Conference of Birds" (inspiration: the poem "

The Conference of the Birds ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

" by the Persian

Attar of Nishapur Faridoddin Abu Hamed Mohammad Attar Nishapuri ( – c. 1221; ), better known by his pen-names Faridoddin () and ʿAttar of Nishapur (, Attar means apothecary), was a poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nishapur who had an immense ...

) (Jewels), Pascal Morabito Champs Elysées Paris, Mähler-Besse Antwerp, Casino of Knokke, International Gold Corporation – the Louvre des Antiquaires Paris *1981 – "Tree of Life" (inspiration: the

Tree of life The tree of life is a fundamental archetype in many of the world's mythology, mythological, religion, religious, and philosophy, philosophical traditions. It is closely related to the concept of the sacred tree.Giovino, Mariana (2007). ''The ...

from the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

) Casino of Knokke, Renheide Collection Leende *1981 – "Visions of the Night" Sfinks Gallery Antwerp, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1982 – "The New Genji" (inspiration:

The Tale of Genji is a classic work of Japanese literature written by the noblewoman, poet, and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu around the peak of the Heian period, in the early 11th century. It is one of history's first novels, the first by a woman to have wo ...

) Casino of Chaudfontaine, Gertrude Van Dyck Gallery Brussels, Hillman Collection *1983 – "Thousand Eyes of Water" – A.W.W. Antwerp *1984 – "The Language of forms" (Jewels) and "Birth" (Drawings) – Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1985 – "The Five Seasons" – Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1987 – "Genesis I" (inspiration: the

), Ladeuze Gallery Maarkedal, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *1988 – "Men in the Mirror" (inspiration: painting of

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

) – the artist's private collection. *1989 – "Genesis II" – studio of the artist Paris *1991 – "Emotions in Motion I" : Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai, Morton & Graham Art Gallery in Santa Monica *1993 – "Emotions in Motion II" – Tresors & Tresors d'Art fine Art Fair for Asia-world Trade Centre Singapore. *1994 – "Cathedrals" Casa cor Gallery Cascais (Lisbon), Buschlen Mowatt Gallery Vancouver *1996 – "The Flowers of Evil" (inspiration: poem "

Les Fleurs du mal ''Les Fleurs du mal'' (; ) is a volume of French poetry by Charles Baudelaire. ''Les Fleurs du mal'' includes nearly all Baudelaire's poetry, written from 1840 until his death in August 1867. First published in 1857, it was important in the ...

" by

Charles Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet, essayist, translator and art critic. His poems are described as exhibiting mastery of rhythm and rhyme, containing an exoticism inherited from the Romantics ...

), Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai, Première Gallery Paris, Richard May Gallery Chicago, Buschlen Mowatt Gallery Vancouver *1998 – "The Black Paintings" (inspiration: the ''

Black Paintings The Black Paintings (Spanish: ''Pinturas negras'') is the name given to a group of 14 paintings by Francisco Goya from the later years of his life, probably between 1820 and 1823. They portray intense, haunting themes, reflective of both his fe ...

'' by

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

), artist's studio in Paris *1999 – "Landscapes", exhibition in the artist's studio in Paris *2003 – "La Divina Commedia" (inspiration: the epic ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'' by

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

), Art Hall kunsthal Sint-Pietersabdij Ghent *2004 – "Ulysses" (inspiration: the novel ''

Ulysses Ulysses is the Latin name for Odysseus, a legendary Greek hero recognized for his intelligence and cunning. He is famous for his long, adventurous journey home to Ithaca after the Trojan War, as narrated in Homer's Odyssey. Ulysses may also refer ...

'' by

James Joyce James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (born James Augusta Joyce; 2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influentia ...

), works in progress *2007 – "Paradise Lost" (inspiration: "

Paradise Lost ''Paradise Lost'' is an Epic poetry, epic poem in blank verse by the English poet John Milton (1608–1674). The poem concerns the Bible, biblical story of the fall of man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their ex ...

:, poem by

John Milton John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, and civil servant. His 1667 epic poem ''Paradise Lost'' was written in blank verse and included 12 books, written in a time of immense religious flux and politic ...

), Jewels, Harmagedon Gallery Courtrai *2008 – "Graba' in residence", Belgian Embassy Copenhagen *2009 – "a Man of answers… ?" (inspiration: daily life questions and talks with the historical Iēshoua' of Nazareth), the Saint-Bavo Cathedral Ghent

Publications

Monographies

*1976 Garden of Delight, Safi (CH) *1976 The Mysteries of Light, Safi (CH) *1977 The Mystic of Islam, Safi (CH) *1978 Tantra, Safi (CH) *1978 The Painter and his Model, Safi (CH) *1980 The Conference of Birds, Editions du Temple, Paris *1982 The New Genji, LOF, Amsterdam *1984 The Language of forms, Decorte Publishing, Ghent *2003 La Divina Commedia, LOF Brussels

DVDs

*2003 La Divina Commedia, LOF Brussels *2007 Paradise Lost, LOF Brussels

External links

Graba' websiteVideo of official opening exhibition "a Man of answers" in Ghent
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graba Flemish artists 20th-century Belgian painters 1940 births 2016 deaths