abstract painting swimberghe

Large oil on canvas by Belgian modernist painter Gilbert Swimberghe (1927-2015). Swimberghe was part of a Avant Garde movement in the 1950s called De Raaklijn. This group of painters and writers embraced the international modernism after WWII and longed for a purification and rebirth in art. They tried to touch the essence by abstracting their work to form and color. Gilbert spent the rest of his live exploring this and literally changed color every decade. By the 1980s he used grey and white and also deepened his work by allowing imperfection and richer textures. This work is signed and dated 1985 on the back.