The Callewaert-Vanlangendonck Gallery is, thanks to its targeted choice of post-1945 Belgian abstract artists, a welcome presence amongst the galleries specialising in high-quality modern artworks. The gallery’s owners, Yoeri Vanlangendonck and Brecht Callewaert, have both lost their hearts to the post-war avant-garde. In their opinion, the Belgian abstract artists are still undervalued, both with regard to the quality of their work, and, for example, to the international role they played in the Zero movement. They explain: “Our exhibitions strive to emphasise the lyrical and geometric qualities of abstract art. And we always have work by artists such as Mark Verstockt (1930-2014), Guy Vandenbranden (1926-2014), Paul Van Hoeydonck (b.1925), Pol Mara (1920-1998), Jef Verheyen (1932-1984), Wybrand Ganzevoort (b.1930), René Guiette (1893-1976) and Luc Peire (1916-1994), amongst others, in stock. These artists were part of a strong international network, which led to exhibitions in Milan, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Leverkusen, Geneva and the United States. In 1959 and 1960, for example, Vandenbranden and Verstockt exhibited together in the Galleria Pater in Milan, the gallery of Piero Manzoni. Jef Verheyen also exhibited at Galleria Pater.” More than forty years later, their works are once again the subject of exhibitions: only this time at the Callewaert-Vanlangendonck Gallery in Antwerp rather than in Milan.
