Genaux Ben

Ben (Oscar, said Ben) Genaux was a Belgian artist, born in Ransart in 1911 and died in Leers-et-Fosteau in 1996. He was a painter, draftsman, graphic artist, illustrator, author and poet. He was self-taught. During his travels to Spain, Italy and Africa he found inspiration for his later works. From the press: “B.G. paints powerfully and with full paint paste in rich colors: fiery red and yellow. His work is dynamic and shows a strong sense of composition, which does not exclude feeling.” In his early days he leaned towards the fantastic and the extraordinary. He presented images as if they had been taken from nightmares. Afterwards he found his inspiration in the female nude and Eastern mysticism. He also produced abstract work. He discusses his vision on painting in his book A pleins tubes. He illustrated, among others, Les Illuminations (Rimbaud), La voie royale (Malraux), The Jungle Book (Kipling), Eight fantastic stories (Poe). In 1960 a retrospective was held at the Center for Fine Arts in Charleroi. In 1970 he had his tombstone chiselled with one word inscribed: “Ouf!”. Ben Genaux was given permission to be buried in the garden behind his home. We find his work in the Museum in Charleroi. He is mentioned in BAS II and Two centuries of signatures of Belgian artists. (Piron)