Stations of the cross

The oeuvre of Van Severen is an exceptional example of determination. During his entire career as artist, he held firm to the same principles. In his work, which is difficult to place in the history of art due to its highly personal character, the artist goes in search of harmony, a balance that has been lost in modern society. Van Severen does this by way of abstract paintings, drawings and so forth that throughout his career become evermore sober. The content is reduced to a number of essential forms: cross, rhombus, circle, square, etc. Of these forms, primarily the cross always takes on a prominent position in the artist’s oeuvre. Van Severen builds the composition of his works up around the elementary cross motif. Throughout his career the artist made only a number of three-dimensional works, amongst which is the Stations of the Cross (1984) from the Mu.ZEE collection. In this work, Van Severen’s fascination for the cross motif culminates. In order to create the form, the artist worked with iron tubes that he subsequently welded together.