Haeck Rigobert

Rigobert Haeck was a Belgian artist, born in Leupegem in 1912 and died in Oudenaarde in 2005. He was a painter, draughtsman, printmaker, ceramicist, sculptor, and designer of tapestries. He was largely self-taught but did take classes at the Academy in Oudenaarde. For a time, he worked in a lyrical abstract style before evolving toward his own form of figuration. He found inspiration in his immediate surroundings and in nature. He synthesized his subjects into geometric planes and employed a fresh colour palette.
He also created sculptural ceramics and bronzes using the lost-wax technique.
From the press: “The lack of understanding for his abstract work, and also ‘playing with paint’, brought him back to figurative work, which in recent years resembles more collections of tight, partial works where the boxes are coloured in. His themes usually remain women and birds. But he continues to make his small ceramic and bronze sculptures, while in recent years he also took up etching, entirely in the spirit of his painting.” (A. Vandeghinste, 1982)
He received the Gold State Medal for ceramics in 1959, the Talens Prize, and the Grand Prize for Painting from the city of Ostend in 1960. In 2003, a tribute exhibition was held in Oudenaarde. (Piron)