Press release:
Marcel Verhofstadt lays down the law

We could equally have chosen the heading: no entry for killjoys and grouches! When Verhofstadt speaks, or rather paints, he wants his voice to be heard. Take his canvases from the frames, and they will still stand proudly: this is an artist whose paintings go straight where he wants – no wandering down fashionable blind alleys for him. He was a pupil of Jacques Maes, the spiritual father of the Saint-Josse school and renowned for his use of colour and his originality. And what about Verhofstadt’s paintings?

ake some everyday objects, arrange them as what the French would call “dead nature” - an unfortunate phrase, as the English “still life” or German “Stilleben” are far more appropriate. You get a still life with a guitar, or another one with ears of wheat, or with bottles. Then you start painting portraits of well-known figures, jazz musicians, furtive passers-by.
Does that make it a Verhofstadt? No. Because that’s where the man with the palette comes in.
He balances lipstick red with Clockwork Orange for you, malachite green with Prussian blue, and muted pinks that have escaped from the hell of lost painters. This guy has plenty of nerve, and he succeeds in producing (large) pieces in a realistic style, bringing a modern touch to the works, because he adapts his use of light to suit our modern concepts based on neon and video.

He is a demanding painter, and must be no less demanding as a teacher; this is a hot-blooded artist, a rarity in these times of cold-blooded artworks.

Anita Nardon (Drapeau Rouge, 11-Aug-1990)

Magazine article in French