Pol Bury c. 1962
Despite being a lifelong art lover, I never profess to know
everything about all artists, whether they are considered ‘major’ or ‘minor’
(according to art-historical narratives).
So it is always a delight to discover a completely new (to me) artist,
and be excited by their work.
Such is the case with Belgian artist Pol Bury (1922-2005). Apparently, I am not alone in being unaware of this fascinating artist. Primarily known for his monumental mechanical fountains, he is also seen as one of the founders of Kinetic Art and this retrospective at BOZAR is the first held in Belgium in over twenty years.
“Time in Motion” charts the development of Bury’s diverse and vast oeuvre from his beginnings as a painter heavily influenced by fellow Belgian Magritte, the introduction of movement in his work as a result of his fascination Alexander Calder’s mobiles and then how that developed even further after being inspired by Louise Nevelson wood assemblages.
The exhibition brings together Bury’s paintings, small and monumental reliefs and sculptures as well as drawings and engravings, all of which give a fascinating insight into the artist’s creative journey. Despite his early paintings showing little originality or promise – they are clumsy with clichéd Surrealist motifs – thankfully, he soon abandoned such laboured signifiers of female sexuality and gradually moved into complete abstraction. These early abstract works already have a look of Alexander Calder about them. It was a visit to Calder’s exhibition at Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1950, which put the artist on new artistic path.
Such is the case with Belgian artist Pol Bury (1922-2005). Apparently, I am not alone in being unaware of this fascinating artist. Primarily known for his monumental mechanical fountains, he is also seen as one of the founders of Kinetic Art and this retrospective at BOZAR is the first held in Belgium in over twenty years.
“Time in Motion” charts the development of Bury’s diverse and vast oeuvre from his beginnings as a painter heavily influenced by fellow Belgian Magritte, the introduction of movement in his work as a result of his fascination Alexander Calder’s mobiles and then how that developed even further after being inspired by Louise Nevelson wood assemblages.
The exhibition brings together Bury’s paintings, small and monumental reliefs and sculptures as well as drawings and engravings, all of which give a fascinating insight into the artist’s creative journey. Despite his early paintings showing little originality or promise – they are clumsy with clichéd Surrealist motifs – thankfully, he soon abandoned such laboured signifiers of female sexuality and gradually moved into complete abstraction. These early abstract works already have a look of Alexander Calder about them. It was a visit to Calder’s exhibition at Galerie Maeght in Paris in 1950, which put the artist on new artistic path.
Composition, 1952
The year 1959 is seen as the true beginning of Bury as a kinetic artist. It was the year he combined style and technique into a unique working practice. His ‘punctuations’ – monochrome reliefs punctuated by motorised and illuminated nylon or iron wires – earned him international recognition. Their slow and unpredictable movement make for an interesting experience walking through the gallery. Presented with a room full of kinetic work which, depending on the time set on the mechanisation of each piece, visitors can walk through the room without seeing anything move at all! Thankfully, when a piece does start to come to life, the sound of the old batteries cranking up the power gives enough warning to rush back and see which artwork is stirring and moving.
Exhibition View (Room 2: Calder's Lessons)
Twelve years after being inspired by Calder, the work of
Louise Nevelson was to inspire another development in Bury’s work. From 1962, he started to create much large sculptures
made of pieces of recovered wood. These
are very appealing, both visually and orally.
The beautiful crafted wooden shapes are fully complimented by the gentle
sound of wood thudding on wood, created by the subtle and continuous automated
movement.
Exhibition View (Room 5: Paris, New York and Back)
Bury’s exquisite craftsmanship continued when he progressed
from working with wood to metal, which he was eventually able to do due to his
commercial success. While he explored
the formal limits imposed by the material, the use of metal offered the artist
new possibilities for generating movement - using magnets introduced an element
of randomness, not seen in his earlier wooden sculptures.
Top: Circles on 6 Forms (1977)
Bottom: Spheres (1969-75)
“Pol Bury: Time In Motion” is a very special exhibition. It charts the rise and rise of a very talented and truly unique artist. As a personal fan of sculpture this was a very exciting discovery for me and I cannot recommend the exhibition highly enough.
Exhibition View (Room 9: Ending on a High Note)
