Together with Cantre and Masereel , Joris Minnen is for personnally one of the best woodblock artists from the 20th century. His compositions and subjects are a symbiosis of Art Deco design and abstraction. The result is a highly authentic and personal oeuvre of mainly woodblock prints
He was born in Ostend. His parents moved to Antwerp soon after he was born. In Antwerp he completed middle school and then went to the higher school (ateneum) where one of his teachers was August Borms. During the weekend, he attended art classes at the Berchem Academy of Fine Arts.
During World War I Minne took a job at the Antwerp city Welfare Department. Here he came into contact with Roger Avermaete who was departmental head. Roger Avermaete had a circle of artistic friends who decided to found a magazine. The magazine ‘Lumière’ was first published in Antwerp in August 1919.[3] The magazine was an artistic and literary journal published in French. Lumière’s title was a reference to the magazine Clarté, that was published in Paris by Henri Barbusse. The principal five artists who illustrated the text and the column headings were Frans Masereel, Jan Frans Cantré, Jozef Cantré, Henri van Straten and Joris Minne. They became known as ‘De Vijf’ or ‘Les Cinq’ (‘The Five’). The magazine ‘Lumière’ was a key force in generating renewed interest in wood engraving in Belgium. The five artists in ‘De Vijf’ group were instrumental in popularizing the art of wood, copper and linoleum engraving and introducing Expressionism in early 20th-century Belgium.
www.ftn-books.com has some Minne titles available.
