Mrs. Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven and Mr. Paul Van Hoeydonck received on Tuesday 29 March 2022 the honorary degree for General Merit for their exceptional role and achievement as visual artists in artistic and cultural terms, with a visionary scope that connects art and science.
Nominator: Rector Herman Van Goethem
Co-nominators: Prof. Geert Lernout, Mr. Ernest Van Buynder, Dr. Johan Pas, dean of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, AP University College.
Watch the livestream
More about Paul Van Hoeydonck
Paul Van Hoeydonck (°1925) is a self-made man, who for a time worked as a technical draughtsman in the Port of Antwerp.
In the fifties and sixties he blossomed into an influential and internationally appreciated artist. In his visual artworks, we see the development from lyrical to geometrical abstraction, manifested in paintings,drawings and reliefs. By exploring the limits of the canvas and of colour (in his series of 'white on white' worksfrom the late fifties), Van Hoeydonck was one of the founders of the international Nul-, Zero and Nouvelle Tendance movements.
In 1958, he co-founded the artists' group G58/Hessenhuis, which gave a boost to contemporary art in and around Antwerp through exhibitions, debates, concerts and publications until 1962.Van Hoeydonck participated as organiser and artist in the legendary Vision in Motion exhibition of 1959, which marked the launch of the international Zero movement.
In the sixties, Van Hoeydonck joined new figurative developments such as Nouveau Réalisme and created his own variant: Space Art. In the context of this development, Van Hoeydonck was given the opportunity to realise a work of art for the moon, which would eventually land on the moon during the Apollo 15 mission in 1971 known as 'Fallen Astronaut'. So far, it is the only work of art outside the Earth's atmosphere.
Several publications and documentary films have been devoted to this piece and other aspects of his work. Van Hoeydonck, who has an impressive international exhibition record, is still artistically active today. An extensive overview of his work was on display from August to October 2021 at Campo & Campo in Berchem.
More about Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven
Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven (°1951) studied graphic design at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp. She soon progressed to practicing art autonomously in which drawing and writing would be constant driving forces. Aware of the precarious position of female artists, she emerged as a critical and creative voice in the debate onwomen and art. In addition, she continues to show great interest in science and technology and how they impactart and society. As an artist, she is thorough and research-oriented and applies new insights from science (suchas AI) and technology (such as digitisation) to her work.
In the seventies, she worked closely with Luc Steels (AIlab of VUB), then affiliated with the UIA. Van Kerckhoven also published her own artist publications, such asPublic Annemy, in which she expressed her commitment and interests in a radical and distinctive way. In 1981, together with performance artist and her life partner Danny Devos, she founded the artists' platform Club Moral,based in Borgerhout. There the duo organised concerts, performances and exhibitions for years and publishedthe radical and innovative artist's magazine Force Mental. The Club Moral duo also gave musical performances.
The work of Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven (known in art circles as AMVK) has meanwhile been shown in various places around Belgium and abroad. This distinctive and impressive track record won an award a few years ago with an extensive retrospective exhibition at the M HKA and at the Museum Fridericianum in Kassel. Throughher teaching assignments, her jury memberships and other activities, this artist is also committed to helpingyoung artists.