As for the modality in which Van den Berghe’s visual reaction took shape, it can be noted that his work had never before assumed such a pure and museal character. It radiates color and is clear in its form. That simplicity and clarity, however, have been hard-won, something you can feel in the work. And yet—this is a quality of modern art in general, when it’s good—the sculptures evoke all kinds of questions, questions that can be posed in many ways. Some of them can be answered clearly and directly, but others are veiled behind the outer brilliance. Why spirals? Why metal? In which incisions have been made? Such questions can be answered unambiguously, because Van den Berghe used a photograph of Barnett Newman’s studio as the basis for the invention of his sculptures. That studio contained rows of small and large paint cans, the material source from which the artworks emerged through transformation. And with a nod to the fatal fate that befell the painting, the can opener—eye-opener—is introduced both literally and figuratively.

Such signs are very direct, maybe even vulgar, but they gain their depth through a visual reference to another layer: the reference to the image of the tearing of the Temple Curtain at the moment of Redemption—the biblical parallel to the Phoenix myth. Many of the titles of his works refer to names and events recorded in the Bible and the Talmud, such a source of inspiration for Barnett Newman. At the same time, there are allusions to more recent events and opinions in the art world. For instance, Newman’s position with respect to European art, of which he considered the work of Mondrian a final expression. But there are also questions raised that are more difficult or even impossible to answer. These remain enclosed within the image, like an Abatur—the title of the final work in the series: the eye enclosed within itself. Questions which, alongside the gift of beauty, perhaps offer the best of what contemplation of a work of art can bring.”

Translated from the Dutch text: 1992, Roland Van den Berghe, Abatur – het in zichzelf besloten oog by Jean Leering, in Arte Factum, June–July–August 1992.