Extase, 1958 - 59

Bram Bogart was a Belgian painter, who was most closely associated with the abstract expressionist movement. He attended a technical school in the Netherlands, where he trained for a career as a decorator, while simultaneously taking a correspondence class in drawing. Bram Bogart launched his professional career by assuming an advertising position in Rotterdam. After World War II he settled in Paris, France and became one of the founders of Art Informel. Bogart used an array of materials throughout his artistic career. He had a genuine interest in the material possibilities of painting. In fact, the bulk of his work lies in composition and texture. Early in Bram Bogart’s profession, he experimented with figurative drawing and cubism. During this time he would focus on depicting flowers, still life paintings, and self-portraits. Later, in the 1950s, Bram Bogart shifted his focus to working with impasto. Bogart would use thick layers of boldly applied, vibrant paint colors in his pieces. The technique he implemented was based on using a brush, a trowel, and a painter’s knife to move rhythmically above a canvas that would be lying on the floor and could weigh up to several hundred pounds. Consequently, he developed an expressionist style that became more abstract as time passed. In the 1960’s, Bogart broadened his style by exploring the use of a more predominant three-dimensional material. He would create a mixture of several elements that included varnish, mortar, powdered chalk, and raw pigment. Bogart would then apply the mixture to large structures with wooden backing. Overall, this created a very impressive effect. Bram Bogart was without question, an extremely unique and gifted artist.