Ysebaert Patrick

Patrick Ysebaert was a Belgian artist, born in Eeklo in 1947 and died in 2010. He was a versatile artist, known for his paintings, portraits, and graphic work.
In 1970, he began his career as a graphic assistant for Première, the film program of the BRT, and developed advertising campaigns for Securex. Three years later, in 1973, he became a full-time teacher at the Municipal Academy of Fine Arts in Eeklo.
In 1987, Ysebaert created 60 portraits of famous and/or notorious residents of Eeklo for the café De Vreeze Gods. Two years later, he worked for a year in the catacombs of Palermo, resulting in an exhibition of 45 catacomb paintings, first in Palermo (1989) and later in the Saint Bavo Abbey in Ghent (1991).
His work also included exhibitions of portraits in Eeklo and installations such as "Ave Maria" in A(rt)senede (1992). In 2001, he completed a series of paintings titled "The Gospel," with nine works exhibited in Eeklo and then permanently installed in the chapel of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Palermo.
In 2004, he exhibited his works in the exhibition "De Herbakker" at cc De Herbakker in Eeklo, consisting of paintings, 26 colored drawings, and a selection of preliminary studies. Later, in 2008, he created 55 portraits of famous Meetjeslanders for Taptoe's Card Game and made 63 diptychs titled "Occhi fiamminghi sulla Sicilia," which were permanently exhibited in the mafia museum in Salemi.
After his death in 2010, a posthumous exhibition of his work was held at the Castello di Salemi. In 2011, a selection of eight of his mafia paintings was exhibited at the Venice Biennale in the Italian pavilion, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. In 2012, a posthumous retrospective of his work was held at the MAP in Eeklo. (BT)