Hans Fohan

Hans Fohan is a Belgian artist, born in Kortrijk, Belgium in 1958 and who expanded his career as an artist in the Bruges region. In the first years he experimented with a combination of figurative and abstract elements to eventually delve into the abstract. From precisely defined areas of colour he evolved to freer forms within the abstract. At the turn of the century, his oeuvre also underwent an enormous turnaround. From the busy, often black-edged paintings, he switched to the white works typical of his style of the 21st century. Such works are known as 'The Spot', under which title a book about his work was published in 2004. He applies only a few stains of paint to the white canvases. Contrary to what might suggest, these biomorphic forms are not based on chance. The artist applies them meticulously, drawing the forms with paint as it were. He has reduced his style of painting (and literally, also the use of paint) to what for him is the essence of what should remain. In this way, such work also fits within the principles of 'Amor Vacui', the love of emptiness. A concept that mainly took shape through the emergence of minimalism, Fohan applies this in a contemporary context. It is the embrace of emptiness, in which the artist requires the spectator to fill in this emptiness himself with his imagination and creativity. Often labeled as a lack of effort or too simple, but as Leonardo da Vinci once said: “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication". With his early work he had many successes in Europe, besides his homeland his work was also exhibited in France, Germany, Sweden, etc. His new work received even more international attention, resulting in solo exhibitions in New York and Tokyo. In the year 2019 a new book about his work was published, entitled 'Amor Vacui' (Uitgeverij Snoeck, ISBN 9 78946 1615992).