Jef Verheyen
Guy Mees (left) and Jef Verheyen in the Tempeliershof in Weert, where they spent the summer together, painting and writing, 1959
Jef Verheyen ArchiveAway with paint. In the 1960s that is the slogan
of Guy Mees. This avant-garde artist exchanges
canvas and charcoal for industrially produced lace
and neon lights. Whether they are round, square or
triangular, these works all bear the enigmatic title
Verloren Ruimte (Lost Space). Just like Verheyen,
Mees plays with concepts such as space and
light. In 1959 they both spend the summer at the
Tempeliershof, an empty farm in Weert, where they
work and write together. For Verheyen, Mees is
‘the painter who showed me the solution’ and
questioned the definition of painting.