Holmens Gerard

Gerard Holmens was a Belgian artist, born in Ostend in 1934 and died in Moulins/France in 1995). He was a sculptor. He was educated at the Academies in Ostend (1951-1953), Antwerp (1955-1956) and Ghent (1957-1958). He went on to perfect himself at the Grande Chaumière in Paris, under the guidance of O. Zadkine. Despite his education, he considered himself self-taught. He evolved from stylized figuration to abstraction. In 1980 he settled in the South of France. From the press: “From his first works (1955) he swears allegiance to the stylized figuration. Vegetal compositions and imaginary animals take shape in the shiny marble through his hand. His mobile marble structures are particularly popular with the stone-loving public. G.H. never made multiples, only unique ones.” In the last ten years he has confined himself almost mainly to mini-sculptures in white and black marble, which often showed a humorous slant. In 2001 a retrospective was held at the Stedelijk Museum in Ostend. Work by Gerard Homens can be found in the museums in Ostend, Ypres, Kortrijk and Bergen. He is listed in the Lexicon of West Flemish visual artists ii, in Artists and Galleries, fifth edition (2004). (Piron)