Jan Heylen, Brutalist Ceramic Sculpture

Brutalist ceramic sculpture by Belgian artist Jan Heylen, Belgium, 1960s. Working outside conventional ceramic traditions, Heylen developed a highly personal figurative language marked by distorted poses, raw surfaces and psychologically charged facial expressions, placing his work within the more experimental side of Belgian avant-garde art.

Executed in textured ceramic with an intentionally rough, almost unfinished surface reinforcing the emotional tension of the figure. Preserved in excellent condition. Due to Heylen's early death, his works remain exceptionally scarce within post-war Belgian ceramic art and brutalist ceramics.

h x w x d: 47 x 30 x 20 cm / weight: 12 kg

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9,800.00 €

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About Jan Heylen

Jan Heylen (1931–1967) was a Belgian artist known for his sculptural approach to ceramics. Trained at La Cambre and later in Paris under Ossip Zadkine, he developed a body of work centred on the human figure. His sculptures, often marked by unusual poses and direct expressions, explore themes of vulnerability and tension.

Heylen exhibited at Expo 58 at a young age and was closely connected to artists such as Yves Rhayé and Octave Landuyt, reflecting a shared interest in the expressive potential of ceramic sculpture. He died in a car accident in 1967, his work therefore remains very scarce.

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