Marcel WARRAND (1924-2015): "L'hyper vu" or the bodybuilder

t. Born in Namur in January 1924, a graduate of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Namur, he taught his art for 35 years: first at the Ecole des Métiers d'Art in Maredsous, then at Saint-Luc (Brussels), at the Institut d'Art Décoratif des Soeurs de Ste-Marie (Brussels), and finally at the Institut des Arts et des Techniques Artisanales (Namur), where he ended his career in 1989. A lover of diversity and always on the lookout for something new, he has traversed the major artistic movements of the 20th century, producing works that are sometimes figurative, sometimes abstract. He was also "the co-founder of groups of contemporary Namur artists: AXE 59, ROUE, AXE 66, Rez-de-chaussée 28, with the Lapeirre, Londot, Pirrard, Souply and Van Espen... Gustave Cambier and, above all, Yvonne Perrin, pushed him to move away from the post-impressionism taught at the time. Experimentation with Cubism led him to abstraction. The appearance of human elements, however fragmentary, was a harbinger of the return of figuration, such as the flamboyantly coloured, oversized bodybuilders in oil, spread out over imposing formats; the woman, on the other hand, appeared sensual, luminous, multi-faceted, her almost translucent complexion distracted by the colour of the décor. Insignificant objects, in an arrangement scripted by the artist, invade the walls of the studio and become the animators of the poetry of her canvases and boxes". (Jacques Patris, in Emmène-mois n°154, p.7) He died on 4 June 2015 at the age of 91. Many of his works can be found in museums (including the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Brussels) and private collections, both in Belgium and abroad.