{"id":47961,"date":"2024-11-18T19:26:00","date_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:26:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/vincent-halflants-1934-2026-leen-lybeer-1937-2024\/"},"modified":"2024-11-18T19:26:00","modified_gmt":"2024-11-18T19:26:00","slug":"vincent-halflants-1934-2026-leen-lybeer-1937-2024","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/vincent-halflants-1934-2026-leen-lybeer-1937-2024\/","title":{"rendered":"Vincent Halflants (1934-2026) &amp; Leen Lybeer (1937-2024)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"742\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-742x1024.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-47336\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-742x1024.png 742w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-217x300.png 217w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-768x1060.png 768w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-1113x1536.png 1113w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-973x1343.png 973w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4-508x701.png 508w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-4.png 1159w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 742px) 100vw, 742px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-video\"><video height=\"480\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 848 \/ 480;\" width=\"848\" controls src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/e1a14aed-a88c-4eae-8855-194121426508.mp4\"><\/video><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">video maker: Rik Terlyn, Kunstkoppen is a project of CC Het Gasthuis and IGCS.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent Halflants &amp; Leen Lybeer<br>It should not surprise you if you do not (yet) know the artist couple Leen Lybeer and Vincent Halflants. Unlike many, often younger, artists, they have rarely or never appeared on the local art scene. Their life&#8217;s work is located at Speelhoven, the oldest dwelling in Aarschot, protected in a nature reserve on the edge of the town, towards Rillaar. In recent years they have been brought somewhat out of the shadows after SPEELHOVEN. Until 2006, under that name, they organised for ten years a special art encounter, each September, on their estate. With GASTHOVEN, the Het Gasthuis cultural centre in Aarschot picked up the thread and came up with talked-about exhibitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"369\" height=\"542\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-11.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45117\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-11.png 369w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-11-204x300.png 204w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 369px) 100vw, 369px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leen Lybeer and Vincent Halflants through the lens of Jef van Eynde<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A relative obscurity, that is how it is with the artist couple. And yet the other artists see Vincent Halflants as their mentor. The late Roland Rens, who is omnipresent in Aarschot, very often visited Halflants&#8217; studio and urged recognition. One more thing: Vincent Halflants worked for years in the psychiatric institutions of Tienen and Diest. Works that patients handed over to him he grouped under the name Procr\u00e9art, the collection he donated to the Dr. Guislain Museum in Ghent in 2018.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Speelhoven.<br>When Speelhoven was recognised as historic heritage, Halflants received a small subsidy for its restoration. In return, they chose to open the estate for 10 years, from 1997 to 2006, for a number of weeks each year to artists and the public. Many of the artists involved have since become big names in the art world. Think of Hans Op de Beeck, Berlinde de Bruyckere, Freek Wambacq (and many other artists).<br>Because the surroundings are overwhelmingly green, quite a few artists chose to make an intervention in the landscape. Some made temporary constructions with which the elements played and which were preserved in photographs, film and drawings. The response was great, also internationally. After the series of 10 events, the Het Gasthuis cultural centre took up the thread with &#8216;Gasthoven&#8217;. The high flowering of cultural life in Aarschot today is not unrelated to this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Leen Lybeer (1937-2024)<\/strong><br><br>First Prize of the Province of Brabant (1966)<br>Prix Jeune Peinture Belge (1977)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"183\" height=\"275\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-12.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45120\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Installation with hand-coloured braids of flax fibres<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leen Lybeer&#8217;s early work fits seamlessly into the textile art of the early 1960s. With self-dyed wool, hemp or cotton, Lybeer weaves in haute and basse lisse. Originally Lybeer chose monumental formats in tapestries and bedspreads. Her chasubles fit into the renewed liturgy that the Catholic Church adopted after the Council. This applied art was only a brief run-up. Very quickly Lybeer was making installations with textiles. The materials used evolved towards a broader range with metal threads and organic fibres such as grass, earth, ash, etc.<br>Her work becomes tighter, stricter and conceptual. In maquettes Lybeer conceives spatial work. A number of designs are also realised on a large scale, in the landscape.<br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"283\" height=\"289\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-5.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45080\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Frame around artificial hill<\/strong>,<strong> 1997<\/strong> cut, dried and muted grass, Bratislava<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"399\" height=\"501\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45137\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image.png 399w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-239x300.png 239w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 399px) 100vw, 399px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>self-portrait Leen<\/strong> <strong>Lybeer, 1979<\/strong><br><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"262\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45077\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4.png 340w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-4-300x231.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>geometric abstract work with ash on glass<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Vincent Halflants<\/strong> (1934-2026)<br><br>The work of Vincent Halflants consists for the most part of pencil and charcoal drawings, watercolour, ceramics and monumental sculptures, assemblages with various materials. Besides geometric abstract spatial compositions, it is above all the human being who is present as a theme each time. Not the human figure in academically drawn perfection or as a portrait, but the vulnerable, almost insignificant human being, placed in his very broad historical perspective. In space and time. Halflants often took part in group exhibitions, including at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and performed, among other places, at the Beursschouwburg. He won, among others, the Prix Jeune Sculpture Belge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"184\" height=\"274\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-6.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45082\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Man and his Shadow<\/strong>, <strong>2006<\/strong> &#8211; bronze and Corten steel <br>Only in 2006 did a work by Vincent Halflants appear in the public space of Aarschot. The Man and his Shadow was given a place on the Kleine Bergstraat in the Grecht. Vincent was 72 years old at the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Man and his Shadow is not located here by chance. As a child, Vincent Halflants cycled from Lubbeek to Aarschot. On this hill, which was then still undeveloped, he rested because from that spot he had a magnificent view of the Church of Our Lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"336\" height=\"448\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-7.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45090\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-7.png 336w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-7-225x300.png 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 336px) 100vw, 336px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Hydroliques,<\/strong> Glazed and unglazed, fired clay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Entire series of playful tube constructions tell stories about connections in the desert. Links between prehistoric and, for example, Roman civilisation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"147\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-8.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45095\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-8.png 340w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-8-300x130.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The Shroud, 2008<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">monumental sculpture. steel and lead. (0.70 x 3.60 x 0.70 m.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Shroud stands for death, not only of Christ, but of all of us. The core of the Christian faith. Through his death God shows himself in Christ as mortal man. But at the same time he brings hope of resurrection and eternal life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work of Vincent Halflants is at once traditional through its universal Christian meaning and contemporary through its sober simplicity and abstraction. The lead translates the weight of death. And yet, with its modest, soft shades of grey and blue, it has a certain lightness that lets it transcend the heaviness. Of all funerary representations the shroud is the most intimate. The most personal. The cloth envelops and veils the body of the deceased, hides it and shows it at the same time. The shroud refers to the crucifixion and the burial of Christ. The tomb was found empty on the third day. The shroud remained as a silent witness and as the only tangible object, together with the cross, and became a relic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the same time the shroud is the simplest, most modest and most ecological way to transport the deceased body. Sadly, we often see the shroud enveloping victims of wars and disasters on the news at the dramatic farewell of loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"340\" height=\"253\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-1.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45145\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-1.png 340w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-1-300x223.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 340px) 100vw, 340px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>The man on the pedestal<\/strong>, watercolour by Vincent Halflants<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Procr\u00e9art.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Procr\u00e9art, Vincent Halflants - ST English\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/612572930?dnt=1&amp;app_id=122963\" width=\"620\" height=\"349\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\"><\/iframe>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent Halflants was active for many years in the psychiatric institutions in Diest and Tienen. The doctors deliberately chose alternative therapies in which the patient could express themselves freely. The artist was deliberately chosen rather than the therapist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Halflants chose an open studio where the &#8220;pupils&#8221; came and went freely to work whenever they wanted. Also outside regular hours. A freedom that lapsed with the arrival of new psychiatrists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Halflants suggested themes, started from art history, showed the way in techniques. Rather than really imposing anything, he left the participants free. In this way he gained a lot of trust. Many regarded Vincent as a friend. In letters, poems and stories they told of their fears, their experiences. The guilt that weighed on them, &#8220;mistakes&#8221; they had made, relationships with fellow residents. Gradually it became apparent that their drawing and painting technique, their spatial insight and work evolved towards a less chaotic form. More grounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many entrusted their work to Halflants so that he could keep it. From this the &#8220;Procr\u00e9art&#8221; collection grew. After a large retrospective exhibition in 2018 at CC Het Gasthuis, the collection was taken into the Dr. Guislain Museum in Ghent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"259\" height=\"194\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image-2.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45147\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Windekind<\/strong> &#8211; Leen Lybeer.  a roll of lead containing the text of Windekind like a hidden story<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"223\" height=\"226\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45109\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-9.png 223w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-9-88x88.png 88w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 223px) 100vw, 223px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Leen Lybeer made a <strong>podium of topsoil<\/strong>. A symbol of the inspiring hospitality they offered together for 10 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"414\" height=\"394\" src=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-45112\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10.png 414w, https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/image-10-300x286.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 414px) 100vw, 414px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>A certain summer solstice<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A vertical pillar in the horizontal landscape. A pointer like an intruder, a link between earth and sky. 15 metres high. Almost invisible in overcast weather. Gleaming in clear, sunny weather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A first summer solstice was placed at Speelhoven in 2006 on the occasion of the 10th Speelhoven, an annual exhibition in which artists showed their work in the landscape.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vincent Halflants designed A certain summer solstice. As a lasting memento of the presence, for 10 years, of so many artists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A link made, the circle is complete,<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For centuries Schoonhoven and Speelhoven were connected. The oldest noble family, which lived in the earliest castle of Schoonhoven, owned the extensive estate, farm and lands of Speelhoven as their so-called country seat. The farm that supplied them with meat, vegetables and fruit. The present recreation estate previously belonged to Schoonhoven castle and was separated from it in the 20th century. The earliest history of Schoonhoven and Speelhoven goes back to the 14th century. Both the present castle of Schoonhoven and the main dwelling of Speelhoven date from the 18th century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A certain summer solstice III creates a quiet link between the two estates. More a modest work of art than a monument, it is a sign. A resting point. A kind of hypnosis, as Vincent Halflants himself calls it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A certain summer solstice III was realised by metal artist Filip Van Daele of Metalmorphosa.  Metalmorphosa from Langdorp creates unique designs in metal with a specialisation in Corten steel. Unique craftsmanship and art go hand in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">metalmorphosa.be<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With thanks to Jos\u00e9e Lehon, art historian, for the realisation of this section on Leen Lybeer and Vincent Halflants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>video maker: Rik Terlyn, Kunstkoppen is a project of CC Het Gasthuis and IGCS.&nbsp; Vincent Halflants &amp; Leen LybeerIt should not surprise you if you do not (yet)&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45117,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-47961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artists"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.museum-aarschot.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}