From 1951 onwards, Guy Vandenbranden said goodbye to figuration and started to work lyrically abstract. In 1952, Vandenbranden ended up in the Brussels art scene and became friends with Pol Bury, Jo Delahaut, Kurt Lewy, Jean Rets and Jean Milo. Thanks to these contacts, Guy Vandenbranden joined the artists' group "Art Abstrait" in 1956. Vandenbranden worked completely geometrically abstract from 1954 on and practiced this visual language consistently until his death in 2014. Around 1958, Vandenbranden worked mainly in black and white, his artworks almost coming to monochromy and there was a clear connection with the work of the AmericanHard Edge of that time. From 1961, Vandenbranden started working with relief and his first abstract sculptures were created. From 1967 onwards Guy Vandenbranden started to spray cellulose lacquer directly on panels with the aim to create visual illusions.
In 1959, Vandenbranden and Jef Verheyen planned to open an Antwerp avant-garde gallery to bring together artists with a like-minded spirit. Piero Manzoni, Jean Tinguely and Lucio Fontana had pledged to work together, but in the end this project jumped and G58 took the role as platform for a new avant-garde at the Hessenhuis in Antwerp. After their project ended, Vandenbranden and Jef Verheyen forged plans with Englebert Van Anderlecht to the establishment of the New Flemish School in 1960. This artists' group, including Paul Van Hoeydonck, Jan Dries and Vic Gentils, aimed to promote their art internationally with exhibitions in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
Selection of solo exhibitions
1950 Galerie St. Laurent, Brussels 1952 Galerie St. Laurent, Brussels Galerie Iris, Antwerp 1956 Galerie Het Atelier, Antwerp 1958 Albert Landry Gallery, New York 1959 Galerie St.Laurent, Brussels Galleria Pater, Milan 1960 Galerie Aujourd'hui, Brussels 1961 Galerie Orez, Den Haag 1963 Musée des Beaux-Arts, Verviers 1964 Galerie Müller, Stuttgart 1966 Galerie Le Zodiaque, Brussel Galerie Bernard, Solothurn, with artist Roger Raveel 1979 Galerie Schneller, Düsseldorf 1981 Morley Gallery, Londen
Selection of books and catalogs
Monographs
Jole Marcel van & Ernest Van Buynder, Guy Vandenbranden. Een halve eeuw constructivisme, uitgeverij Snoeck, Gent, 2006
Tiefenthal Marc, De opbouw in lijn gezet / 50 jaar constructivisme. Monografie omtrent de schilder Guy Vandenbranden, Pandora, Antwerpen, 2001
Vree, paul De, 'De Nieuwe Vlaamse School. Voor- en achtergronden', De Tafelronde, 16/1
Death and legacy
On June 3, 2014, Guy Vandenbranden died in Antwerp and bequeathed his archives to the Antwerp Callewaert Vanlangendonck Gallery. This gallery then founded the 'Estate Guy Vandenbranden', which manages the artistic oeuvre of Guy Vandenbranden and promotes it at home and abroad.
