walter swennen dead

Walter Swennen, a Belgian artist who began his career as a poet before turning to painting, has died at age 79. His death was announced by his gallery, Xavier Hufkens, without specifying a cause. Swennen was known for his playful, language-infused paintings that combined cryptic phrases, comic-book-like figures, and unconventional materials such as found wood and metal. He rose to prominence in Belgium alongside other painters interested in materiality, but his work stood out for its freewheeling humor and destabilization of meaning. A major retrospective at WIELS Contemporary Art Centre in Brussels in 2013 helped revive his career, leading to later shows at Gladstone Gallery in New York and a growing international following.

Death of Denis Coekelberghs

Disparition de Denis Coekelberghs

Denis Coekelberghs, an art historian and contributor to La Tribune de l'Art, died on February 25 at the age of 85. He was a specialist in the work of François-Joseph Navez and Flemish Baroque sculpture, and earned his doctorate in art history from the Catholic University of Louvain in 1976.