564 - Jef Verheyen (1932, Itegem – Apt, 1984)

Jef Verheyen (1932, Itegem – Apt, 1984) “TH I V III” Matte varnish on canvas. (19)73. Approx. 65 x 65 cm. Signed, dated, titled, and labeled on the reverse of the canvas. • A characteristic work from Verheyen’s fascinating “Light Arrow” phase of the 1970s • Luminous diagonal color bands create a dynamic accent within the delicately shimmering, almost weightless picture plane • A pioneering figure of the ZERO-inspired avant-garde, honored with a major retrospective in Antwerp in 2024 Jef Verheyen is considered one of the most original representatives of postwar European abstraction. Closely associated with the artists of the ZERO movement—particularly Lucio Fontana, Heinz Mack, and Günther Uecker—the Belgian artist developed a style of painting in which light and color become the central themes of the work. His interest lay less in depicting visible reality than in exploring the possibilities of our perception. This gave rise to works of great meditative depth, whose finely nuanced colors create an almost immaterial effect. This 1973 work belongs to the creative phase of his so-called “Light Arrows,” in which Verheyen combines the subtle modulation of color fields with clear geometric compositions. From a delicately shimmering background that shifts between warm rosé and cool gray tones, a narrow bundle of colored diagonals emerges. At first barely perceptible, the lines intensify into luminous yellow, green, and deep violet. Their dynamic movement stands in striking contrast to the utter stillness of the surrounding color field. The major retrospective at the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Antwerp in 2024 has once again brought to light the art-historical significance of this long-underappreciated artist. Exhibition: Probably *Circle of Colors*, Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf, 1973. Provenance: Private collection, North Rhine-Westphalia. Taxation: subject to margin scheme (VAT: Margin Scheme).