Jan Cox
Courtesy Archief De Zwarte Panter, Antwerpen
1919 - 1980
Died in Antwerp (BE), born in Den Haag (NL).
The painter and graphic artist Jan Cox (1919-1980) studies history and archaeology in Ghent. In 1945, he co-founds the Jeune Peinture Belge group, which renewed the foundations for contemporary art after the Second World War through abstract modernism.
In 1956, Jan Cox moves to Boston, where he is employed as the head of painting, in the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. After artistic wanderings via Rome, he moves back to Antwerp in 1976, where he concentrates fully on painting and graphic art. Together with Fred Bervoets, Walter Goossens and Wilfried Pas, he becomes one of the pivotal artists of the Antwerp gallery De Zwarte Panter. The work of Jan Cox during this period is characterised by careful compositions, with a magical, surreal atmosphere, a gestural capacity and an expressive colour palette, which refers back to the Cobra artists. Cox, however, works in a more controlled fashion – no spontaneous Fauvism but well-considered compositions, with references to ‘classic’ themes such as violence, cruelty and vulnerability. In his last work – which lays at the core of M HKA’s commitment to Cox – he is even more explicitly searching for a way to cope with the atrocities people both experience and cause. This had been an obsession of his since his experience as a young man in the time leading up to the Second World War. In 1980 the artist takes his own life.
Media
>Jan Cox, Boston, 1962
>To learn more about the ideas that Jan Cox has written about art? Click here for the text 'What is an image...'.
>More to read: 'ORGANISATION OF SHIFTS + TIMING', Jan Cox, s.d.
>More to read: 'Visual thinking expressed in words', a typescript by Jan Cox.
>Jan Cox, Visual Thinking Expressed in Words, 1938.Text, 1 p.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1949.Print, lithograph on paper, 560 x 440 mm.
>Jan Cox, Le fou rire du nouveau riche, 1950.Print, lithograph on paper, 488 x 350 mm.
>Jan Cox, Le fou rire du nouveau riche, 1950.Print, lithograph on paper, 488 x 350 mm.
>Jan Cox, Le fou rire du nouveau riche, 1950.Print, lithograph on paper, 488 x 350 mm.
>Jan Cox, Visage de jeune femme, 1950.Print, lithograph on paper, 450 x 310 mm.
>Jan Cox, Jeune masque matuaire, 1950.Print, lithograph on paper, 555 x 333 mm.
>Jan Cox, Verhuizing ’s avonds (Brussel), 1952.Print, lithograph on paper, 410 x 625 mm.
>Jan Cox, Vriendelijke takjes, 1952.Print, lithograph on paper, 455 x 600 mm.
>Jan Cox, Surprise, 1952.Print, lithograph on paper, 560 x 410 mm.
>Jan Cox, Boom en appelsienen, 1954.Print, lithograph on paper, 648 x 565 mm.
>Jan Cox, La porte des arbres, Pincio, Rome, 1955.Painting, oil, canvas, 130 x 52 cm.
>Jan Cox, Porta Flamina in Rome, Boston, 1957.Painting, oil, canvas, 147 x 147 cm.
>Jan Cox, The Fog In Maine, Boston, 1957.Painting, oil on cardboard, 350 x 350 mm.
>Jan Cox, L’homme qui s’écrit, 1957.Print, woodcut on paper, 530 x 430 mm.
>Jan Cox, Reaching Out, 1957.Print, woodcut on paper, 305 x 455 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1957.Print, woodcut on paper, 235 x 195 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1957.Print, lino print on paper, 243 x 183 mm.
>Jan Cox, Studie voor de Maenaden, Boston, 1960.Drawing, charcoal on paper, 785 x 573 mm.
>Jan Cox, As Manipulators of the Visual Arts our Understanding goes through our Eyes., 1961.Text, 3 p.
>Jan Cox, The Dancers (2), 1962.Drawing, lavis on paper , 567 x 760 mm .
>Jan Cox, Flower, 1969.Drawing, charcoal on paper, 614 x 850 mm.
>Jan Cox, Orpheus Returning from Hades, Boston, 1972.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 300 x 127 cm.
>Jan Cox, Oh! Those Voices, Boston, 1972.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 127 x 159 cm.
>Jan Cox, Het volk jubelt, 1973.Print, 49 x 60 cm.
>Jan Cox, Het hoofd wordt in de zak gedaan, 1973.Poster, 48 x 30 cm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1973.Drawing, charcoal on paper, 755 x 565 mm.
>Jan Cox, Het hoofd van Holofernes, Boston, 1973.Print, etching on paper, 590 x 786 mm.
>Jan Cox, Het volk jubelt, Boston, 1973.Print, ink on arches - paper, 590 x 786 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1974.Print, silkscreen on paper, 900 x 690 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1974.Drawing, acrylic on paper, 590 x 415 mm.
>Jan Cox, Monostatos , 1974.Drawing, mixed media on paper, 720 x 550 mm.
>Jan Cox, Plaats voor nieuwe, 1975.Painting, acrylic on canvas , 270 x 126 cm.
>Jan Cox, Cowboys Arizona, 1976.Painting.
>Jan Cox, Papageno, 1976.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 80 x 75 cm.
>Jan Cox, Monostatos, 1976.Drawing, pencil, gouache, ink on paper, 300 x 270 mm.
>Jan Cox, Papageno , 1976.Print, lithograph, ink on paper, 960 x 160 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1976.Drawing, color pencil, ink, gouache on paper, 270 x 180 mm.
>Jan Cox, Papageno, 1976.Drawing, color pencil, ink, gouache on paper, 300 x 270 mm.
>Jan Cox, Papageno, 1976.Print, lino print, ink on paper, 700 x 500 mm.
>Jan Cox, Het licht aan het einde van de poort, 1977.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 180 x 130 cm.
>Jan Cox, De weelde van vrouwen en paarden voor Rubens, Antwerpen 1977, 1977.Print, silkscreen, ink on paper, 750 x 550 mm.
>Jan Cox, Studie voor de vernieling van Troje; muurschildering station Herrmann-Derbroux (Brussel), 1977.Collage, mixed media on paper, 560 x 760 mm.
>Jan Cox, Golgotha, 1978.Sculpture, mixed media, 200 x 110 x 70 cm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1978.Mixed Media, mixed media, 260 x 140 x 240 cm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1978.Mixed Media, ostrich plume and marble, 100 x 40 x 20 cm.
>Jan Cox, Marlene (Wallin), 1978.Print, etching on paper, 525 x 390 mm.
>Jan Cox, Marlene (Wallin), 1978.Print, etching on paper, 525 x 390 mm.
>Jan Cox, Marlene (Wallin), 1978.Print, etching on paper, 525 x 390 mm.
>Jan Cox, Marlene (Wallin), 1978.Print, etching on paper, 525 x 390 mm.
>Jan Cox, Marlene (Wallin), 1978.Print, etching on paper, 525 x 390 mm.
>Jan Cox, Zelfportret, 1979.Sculpture.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1979.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 117 x 107 cm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled, 1979.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 164 x 204 cm.
>Jan Cox, Orpheus, 1979.Painting, acrylic on canvas with object, 150 x 200 cm and 16 x 18 x 12.5 cm.
>Jan Cox, Petrified Wood, 1979.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 130 x 200 cm.
>Jan Cox, Gnoothi Se Auton, 1980.Sculpture, mixed media, 130 x 70 x 60 cm.
>Jan Cox, Herinneringen aan mijn kinderjaren, 1980.Painting, acrylic on canvas, 120 x 160 cm.
>Wilfried Pas, Jan Cox, Jan Cox - Wilfried Pas, 1985.Book, ink, paper, 29.7 x 21 cm, language : Dutch, publisher : ICC/Internationaal Cultureel Centrum, Antwerpen.
>Jan Cox, Notes on the Path to Surrealism.Text, 8 p.
>Jan Cox, The Joy of the Experience of Totality.Text, 2 p.
>Jan Cox, The Meaning of Surrealism.Text, 12 p.
>Jan Cox, There is a Lot of Talk about Freedom.Text, 1 p.
>Jan Cox, Studie van kleuren, vormen, objecten, materialen.Drawing, gouache on paper, 360 x 535 mm.
>Jan Cox, Verkrachte vrouw bleek niet dood.Drawing, collage, colored pencil and newspaper article on paper, 600 x 455 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled.Drawing, collage, pen, ink on paper, 600 x 455 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled.Drawing, pen and ink incremented with chalk on paper , 406 x 537 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled.Drawing, pen, pencil on paper, 290 x 442 mm.
>Jan Cox, Untitled.Drawing, pencil on paper, 402 x 300 mm.
Exhibitions & Ensembles
> Exhibition: EXTRA MUROS: Geel – Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna. 15 September 2018 - 04 November 2018.
> Exhibition: INBOX: Jan Cox – Aflevering 2: Hoe de herinnering van een kunstenaar hedendaags houden? De keuze van Vaast Colson. 06 May 2014 - 01 June 2014.
> Exhibition: INBOX: Jan Cox – Aflevering 3: Hoe de herinnering van een kunstenaar hedendaags houden? De keuze van Philippe Pirotte. 03 June 2014 - 29 June 2014.
> Exhibition: INBOX: Jan Cox – Episode 1: How can you keep the remembrance of an artist current? Koen van den Broek's choice. 06 April 2014 - 04 May 2014.
> Exhibition: Jan Cox - Schilderijen. 22 December 1973 - 13 January 1974.
> Exhibition: Reaching Out. An Homage to Jan Cox. 18 May 2019 - 01 September 2019.
> Exhibition: Recent acquisitions. 14 August 2015 - 31 January 2016.
> Exhibition: When Faith Moves Mountains. 17 July 2022 - 09 October 2022.
> Exhibition: Worth Fighting For. 14 November 2022 - 14 December 2022.
> Ensemble: Aanwinsten 2014 [Acquisitions 2014].
No image
> Ensemble: A Historical Landscape of War.
> Ensemble: ICC POSTER ARCHIVE.
No image
> Ensemble: ICC_Publications.
> Ensemble: Middle Gate.
> Ensemble: Teksten van Jan Cox [Texts by Jan Cox].
> Ensemble: WAANZIN | MADNESS.
> Ensemble: Worth Fighting For.