Curriculum Vitae

Born 20th december 1954

Studied graphic design at the Royal Academy of Fine arts at Antwerp, Belgium.

Won the first price of The Procince of Antwerp, 1976.

Worked for a year as a comic strip artist and cartoonist.

Made a variety of illustrations for monthly and weekly editions of magazins.

Studied fine oil painting at the workshop of Belgian painter Maarten Boffé.

Had his first exposition in a small pub named "De muziekdoos" at Antwerp city in 1982.

Other expositions:

1986, Antwerp, Galerij Vandaag

1986, Antwerp, Spaar-en lijfrentekas

1987, Brasschaat, St. Jozefkapel

1988, Merksem, Gemeentehuis

1989, Mortsel, Town Hall

1989, Bergen op Zoom, Bruynzeel offices

1989, Hoogstraten Academy

1989, St. Truiden Town Hall

1989, St. Hubert Town Hall

1990 Dommelhof Neerpelt

1990 Gallery Jozefien, Antwerp

1995, Wijnegem Shopping Mall

Some explication needs to be done in order to fully enjoy the work of Walter Leclair (°1954). This artist studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, and makes, in addition to classical still lifes, extremely romantic art, which is indebted to the nineteenth century symbolism, where it connects with both ambience and presentation.

The cryptic and fairytale scenes exude a mystical silence. Frequently, the themes are rooted in the classical world literature. Particular importance certainly also for the Norse mythology, the King Arthur legends and the Middle Ages in general. The landscapes are symbols of human feelings. Often, the eye is drawn to the distance in the landscape. The desire for the unknown and limitless is the driving force here. Nature becomes a mirror held up to the soul of man. This is because the artist himself does not doubt the essential unity of man and nature.

A somber yet seductive splendor is expressed by his homemade art nouveau frames, whose idiom sometimes curiously reminicenses the morphology of insects or ancient Japanese armor. Thus, these works of art will, as if they were juwelry, adorn the walls of the room where they are intended for.

The artist, who has immersed himself completely in the spirit of Baudelaire and Blake, the Pre-Raphaelites and the gothic novels of Poe, presents artwork quite independently of any prevailing style canons of contemporary art.

The artist himself says: "Horta said once that an ornament serves not to decorate, but to support the shape. Some times later any kind of decoration was excluded from the art, under the slogan "Less is more ". This resulted, especially in architectural terms, in cold mathematical art and soon a new slogan was created: "less is bore" a slogan that I carry close to my heart!".

Or even: "Intuition and reason are no longer in equilibrium. Science has become a church, with numerous blind followers. Blind believers who have misunderstood the concept of reason and they will be the superstitious tomorrow, worshippers and supporters they are, of a rigid way of thinking which tolerates no change. "

Cuurently connected to the following galleries: