Belgian sculptor Jean-Pierre Ghysels dies at 92

Belgian sculptor Jean-Pierre Ghysels, who described sculpture as a "craftsman's trade" that "balances man," died on July 23, 2024, following a sudden illness. Born in Brussels in 1932, he studied copperwork and goldsmithing at the École d'Art de Maredsous. After graduating in 1953, a French government scholarship allowed him to study under Ossip Zadkine at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and with George Saupique at the Académie des Beaux Arts in Paris. His first monumental commission, "Il Calvario," was placed at the entrance of the town hall of Rixensart, Belgium. In 1957, after winning the Godecharle prize, he traveled to India and Nepal, painting frescoes for the chapel of the White Fathers in Rayak and in Beirut. His first solo exhibition took place in October 1966 at the Provincial Office of Brabant in Brussels. Notable works include his last figurative sculpture, "Vague," and his first abstract piece, "Forma ripiegata" (1965). Ghysels participated in numerous group shows, including the 1958 Young Belgian Sculpture and Brussels World's Fair, the Middelheim Museum's open-air sculpture biennials (1961, 1963, 1965, 1969), and the 1967 Expo 67 in Montreal, where he represented Belgian sculpture at the pavilions of the European Communities and Belgium. His work evolved from figurative religious statues to abstraction characterized by soft curves and perforated volumes that play with light and shadow.