Lucebert

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Lucebert (Lubertus Jacobus Swaanswijk) (1924-1994) was a Dutch artist who first became known as the poet of the COBRA movement.

He was born in Amsterdam in 1924. He entered the Institute for Arts and Crafts in 1938 and took part in the first exhibition of the COBRA group at the Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam in 1949.

He died on 10 May 1994 in Alkmaar, Netherlands.

The pronunciation of the name Lucebert is not French but more Italian (Luce-bert) so [l'uts∫əbɛrt], with emphasis on the first syllable.

[edit] Biography

Lucebert's talent was discovered when he started working for his father after school. After half a year of art school, he chose to be homeless between 1938 and 1947. In 1947, a Franciscan convent offered him a roof over his head, in exchange for a huge mural painting. Because the nuns could not appreciate his work, they had it painted over with white paint entirely.

He belonged to the Dutch literary movement of De Vijftigers. They were highly influenced by the European avant-garde movement COBRA. So was Lucebert, especially in his early work. His art reflects a rather pessimistic view on the world.

His strong personality appealed to many. As a poet he layed foundation for a revolutionary innovation of Dutch poetry.

Most of his poems were collected in Gedichten 1948-1965. After this period of writing poetry, he worked mostly on visual arts, that was called figurative-expressionist from the Sixties.

He is very well known for his line Alles van waarde is weerloos (All things of value are defenceless). This line is put on top of a building in Rotterdam (near the Blaak station) in neon letters, including his name.

[edit] Exhibitions

1949 - International Exhibition of Experimental Art, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1959 - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1961 - Stedelijk van Abbe-Museum, Eindhoven, Netherlands
1963 - Staedtlische Kunstgalerie, Bochum, Germany
1963 - Marlborough New London Gallery, London
1964 - Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam Kunsthalle Baden-Baden
1964 - Documenta 111, Kassel, Germany
1969 - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam
1969 - Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland - with Karel Appel and Tajiri
1977 - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1982 - Kunsthalle, Mannheim, Germany
1983 - Kunstverein Hochrhein, Bad Säckingen, Germany
1984 - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1985 - Rai, Kunstmesse Amsterdam, Netherlands
1987 - Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
1988 - Kunstmuseum Winterthur, Kunstverein Freiburg i.Br., Germany
1988 - Landesmuseum Oldenburg, Galerie im Taxispalais, Innsbruck, Austria
1989 - Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Germany
1989 - Städtische Kunstgalerie, Bochum, Germany
1989 - Kunsthaus Grenchen, Grenchen, Switzerland