Brussels, 1923 – 1996

Born in Brussels in 1923, he attended the Académie Royale des Beaux Arts between 1940 and 1948.

Considered one of the most talented Belgian artists of his generation, he began painting expressionist still lifes in the style of Jean Brusselman. Thanks to his meeting with Henry Miller and Marcel Lecomte, who introduced him to Georges Braque and Jean Paulhan, his painting shifted in the 1950s towards abstraction with a dynamic combination of colours. His paintings, inspired by a free interpretation of landscapes, are striking for the richness and freshness of the colours, which vary endlessly depending on the incidence of light and the play of light and shadow.

In 1954 he met Parmeke and shortly afterwards Jorn, of whom he became a great friend. In 1955 he participated in the first group show at the Galerie Creuze in Paris. In 1957 he joined ‘L’Internationale Situationniste’ and the same year he was mentioned at the ‘Prix de la Jeune Peinture Belge’. Wyckaert is known for his active involvement in various art movements. He was the co-founder of the Belgian art magazines De Meridiaan and Taptoe Brussels, was a member of Présence, the Situationist International and the International Movement for an Imaginist Bauhaus, and was also a close friend of several CoBrA artists.

He followed Jorn to Albisola, where he devoted himself to ceramics and met Fontana, Crippa, Baj, Scanavino, Lam and Capogrossi. From Albissola he moved to Venice for a period, where he painted several paintings that were later exhibited at the Galleria del Cavallino.

Wyckaert travelled a lot, with long stays in Italy, France, Israel, England and the United States, eager to discover new horizons and to participate in various projects. He was invited to the Venice and São Paulo Biennales (representing Belgium in 1975), as well as exhibitions in major international museums. In 2018, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts of Belgium paid tribute to the artist with a retrospective entitled ‘Inner Landscapes’.