Maurice Wyckaert was a Belgian artist, born in 1923, in the city of Brussels. He is a neo-expressionistic, lyrical abstract painter, gouache designer and printmaker. Enjoyed his education at the Academy of Brussels (1940-47 en 1949-50) and in Sint-Joost-ten-Node and the Vrije Atelier of Sint-Lambrechts-Woluwe. He debuted with wonderful expressionistic still life, reminiscent of Jean Brusselmans. Later Wyckaert became interested by William Turner

William Turner

William Turner MA was an English divine and reformer, a physician and a natural historian. He studied medicine in Italy, and was a friend of the great Swiss naturalist, Conrad Gessner...

 and James Ensor

James Ensor

James Sidney Edouard, Baron Ensor was a Flemish-Belgian painter and printmaker, an important influence on expressionism and surrealism who lived in Ostend for almost his entire life...

 their ideas of luminism

Luminism

Luminism can refer to*A current in North American painting, see Luminism *A neo-impressionist style in painting, see Luminism...

.

In 1955 Wyckaert started to lyrically abstract interpret his environment, which contained noticeable influences of Eastern calligraphy. From this, he evolved to a dynamic abstract combination of attractive colors, which harmoniously shape a free interpretation of landscape. Although Wyckaert was already critically acclaimed, by receiving several honors such as the Jules Raeymaekers of the Royal Academy Award, an honorable mention by JPB (1957) and an honorable mention by Sao Paulo Art Biennial

São Paulo Art Biennial

The São Paulo Art Biennial was founded in 1951 and has been held every two years since. It is the second oldest art biennial in the world after the Venice Biennial , which serves as its role model....

 (1961), his true breakthrough began at the beginning of the 70's. Around this time he started experimenting with gouache, printmaking and lithography.

Wyckaert was known for his pro-active involvement in several art movements such as being the Co-founder of Belgian art magazine De Meridiaan and Taptoe Brussels (1955). As well as a member of Présence

Presence

Presence is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, released by Swan Song Records on 31 March 1976.The album was written and recorded during a tumultuous time in the band's history, as singer Robert Plant was recuperating from serious injuries he had sustained in a recent...

 (1949), the Situationist International (SI), the Movement for a Bauhaus Imagist and well known for his influence and intimate friendship with several CoBrA

Cobra

Cobra is a venomous snake belonging to the family Elapidae. However, not all snakes commonly referred to as cobras are of the same genus, or even of the same family. The name is short for cobra capo or capa Snake, which is Portuguese for "snake with hood", or "hood-snake"...

-members.

He was honored by the SI to read the Declaration in the Name of the Fourth SI Conference to the Institute of Contemporary Arts, at the Institute of Contemporary Arts

Institute of Contemporary Arts

The Institute of Contemporary Arts is an artistic and cultural centre on The Mall in London, just off Trafalgar Square. It is located within Nash House, part of Carlton House Terrace, near the Duke of York Steps and Admiralty Arch...

 on the 28 September 1960. After the city of Brussels started with art projects to enhance their underground, Wyckaert was appointed to decorate the Jacques Brel metro station

Jacques Brel metro station

Jacques Brel is a Metro station on Line 5 of the Brussels Metro. It is named after Belgian singer, songwriter, and poet Jacques Brel. The station opened on October 6, 1982 as part of the Beekkant - Saint Guidon extension of line 1B. Following the reorganisation of the Brussels Metro in April 2009,...

. Has exhibited his work in several renowned musea from Rome to Sao Paulo.

Chief Editor of 'De Meridiaan'

De Meridiaan, later published as De kunst-meridiaan, was a Flemish

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 literary

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

 magazine

Magazine

Magazines, periodicals, glossies or serials are publications, generally published on a regular schedule, containing a variety of articles. They are generally financed by advertising, by a purchase price, by pre-paid magazine subscriptions, or all three...

 that published bimonthly in Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

 and the Netherlands from 1951 until 1960. It was founded by Belgian artist Maurice Wyckaert, poet Clara Haesaert and her husband Gentil Haesaert. De Meridiaan was the main competitor of Tijd en Mens, another literary magazine. Because of its success the magazine evolved from a basic regional magazine to a well-known international art magazine. In 1955 De Meridiaan founded Galerie Taptoe, an artistic centrum, exhibition room and literary café in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

.