Lot 608 D

The Belgian Jef Verheyen devotes his artistic activities to the phenomena of light and colour and develops his theory of “essentialism”. The perception and especially the sense of colour are central themes with which he deals both in his theoretical writings and in his creative oeuvre.
'Colour is active - physiological or psychological - or both at the same time. Colours are never calm, always indifferent in their appearance. They appear and disappear like a rainbow. For me, virtual reflection belongs to the same category; it is no more unreal than a rainbow; and the experienced sensations remain bound to the imaginary. I think of imagination depending on the intensity of perception - or on the speed with which one can connect the virtual incoming images with existing familiar feelings. Establishing this connection and striving for a conscious synthesis - until the panchromatic phenomenon becomes a real symbol -: this is the essential aspect of the sense of colour.' (Gerhard Storck (ed.), Jef Verheyen, Kreislauf der Farben, exhib.cat. Kunstmuseum Dusseldorf, Dusseldorf 1973, p.34).