ENGEL-PAK | Pionnier de L’abstraction
“Rhythm, purity, lines, colours” - these words, inscribed on the walls of ENGEL-PAK’s studio, encapsulate the essence of ENGEL-PAK’s creative vision. They shed light on his rapid and remarkable evolution from figurative expressionism to vibrant lyrical abstraction, where colours and rhythms breathe life and movement into his compositions.
The catalogue “ENGEL-PAK, Pionnier de l’Abstraction” was published to accompany the exhibition of the same name held in Gardanne, in Provence in November 2024, marking the first retrospective dedicated to this visionary artist in France in nearly 60 years.
This book features an illuminating introduction by the famous Belgian art historian Serge Goyens de Heusch, highlighting ENGEL-PAK’s essential role in the early days of lyrical abstraction.
Co-authored by Tatiana Olchanetzky, the great-granddaughter of the artist’s muse and last partner, the catalogue aims to reinstate ENGEL-PAK at the place he deserves in the history of Modern Art.
It also includes an in-depth analysis of his artistic journey by Lara Olchanetzky, curator of the last major retrospective exhibition in Brussels in 2004, showing the evolution of his research and the power of his works over the decades from the expressionist and abstract surrealist beginnings in the Twenties to the lyrical abstract expressionist Sixties.
The human connection, love, and friendships, along with the artist's journey and the encounters that shaped his creative vision, shed light on his unique style. Staying true to himself, he expressed his exploration of dreams and the subconscious through a profound spiritual connection. Like many famous artists, ENGEL-PAK found and nurtured this bond in the South of France, where his talent flourished, inspired by the beauty of the surroundings. The region’s light and colours illuminated his mind, fuelling his artistic vision.
A large section of the catalogue revisits original archives of renowned art critics, authors, and art historians, dating from 1926 and updated to the present day, illustrating their thoughts and words through the artworks exhibited alongside the quotes. 80 reproductions showcase the prolific works of the artist, spanning from his figurative beginnings to his transition into pure and gestural abstraction.
This catalogue celebrates the brilliance of ENGEL-PAK and invites art enthusiasts to rediscover a key figure in the history of Modern Art.
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ENGEL-PAK | Pioneer of Abstract Painting
The book ENGEL-PAK, Pioneer of Abstract Painting, was published in two versions, French/English and French/Dutch, for the occasion of the retrospective with the same name showing at the Botanique (Centre Culturel de la Communauté Françasie, Walloniue-Bruxelles) in Belgium from 18 June until 1 August 2004.
The book begins with an introduction by renowned Belgian art historian Serge Goyens de Heusch, who places the artist as a significant painter in the beginnings of Abstraction in Paris 1930. It includes an in-depth pictorial analysis of Engel-Pak’s work by Lara Olchanetzky, who curated the retrospective, as well as a biography by Roger Palm. There are also 123 reproductions of Engel-Pak’s work spanning over his career.
"Rhythm, purity, lines, colours", these were the words hanging on Engel-Pak's studio walls for many years. Such were the vital aspirations of his creation, the demands of his "innermost necessity", to use Kandinsky's expression. These for words also shed light upon the surprising speed at which this painter from Spa evolved within a few years, from a representational Expressionism to Lyrical Abstraction, in which significance was inherent to the powers of painting: the colours, lines and rhythms which propelled the works" Source : Serge Goyens de Heusch, Dr. In Art History
Cost per book, FR/EN or FR/NL: €35
+ €10 shipping and handling in Europe
+ €15 shipping and handling internationally
Les Premiers Abstraits Wallons | M.-L. Baugniet / H.-J. Closon / E. Engel-PAk / J. Lacasse / M. Lempereur-Haut
« Il y a longtemps que j’ai collé sur une face de mon chevalet le bout de papier » Bachelard. L’Inconscient ne se civilise pas » Cela mène loin et toujours à reprendre. Je traduis avec les couleurs. Apres, pour le spectateur que je deviens il y a une phrase du poète T.S. Eliot « Art : a machinery of satisfaction »
Source : Leon Gabriel Gros, lettre d’Engel-Pak a son neveu Fred, 7 janvier 1964 in Les Premiers Abstraits Wallon, Centre Wallon d’Art Contemporain,Ramet-Flemalle, 1984
© Tous droits réservés au Centre Wallon d’Art Contemporain. Ramet-Flémalle.
Engel-Pak | Les Bonheurs de L’Abstrait | Alain Bosquet
« On voit bien, ce qui chez ENGEL-PAK, a passionné Alain Bosquet: l’itinéraire qui mène un expressionniste à l’abstraction…Engel-Pak est le premier des peintres abstraits de Wallonie. Le révéler, ce serait le consacrer. Qu’attend le monde officiel pour lui rendre l’hommage qu’il mérite ? »
Source: Pol Vandromme, La vie litteraire, Edition de la Différence, Paris
© 1978 Éditions de la Différence,
22 rue St Paul, 75004 Paris
Rencontres à Sanary-sur-Mer | Paul B. Franklin
Essays in this publication by Paul B. Franklin describe the friendship that developed between Marcel Duchamp and ENGEL-PAK in 1941. This friendship is clearly described by Paul B. Franklin, Director and Editor of the publication Etant Donné Marcel Duchamp (supported by © Association pour l’Etude de Marcel Duchamp), in the last 27 pages of Etant Donné N°10 published in 2011 and titled “Rencontres à Sanary-sur-Mer”..
Notes
The extracts of text written by Paul B. Franklin are published on this site with the kind permission of the author. The pictures shown from the article by Paul B. Franklin are published on this site by kind permission of Raoul Henriques Raba (Mouki), nephew of Claire Gilbert-Pierre, Engel-Pak’s partner from 1941 until his death in 1965. Every effort has been made to contact the copyright holders of the works reproduced in this issue. We apologize for any omission that inadvertently may have occurred.
