JEAN MILO
​Member of the "Jeune Peinture Belge" (1945-1948)
Co-founder of the group "Abstract Art" in 1952

Jean Milo (1906-1993) in his atelier, 1952

Jean Milo visited the Belgian Congo in 1953 and painted upon his return a series of works inspired by his trip to the heart of Africa.
Un voyage en Afrique Noire en 1953 vint nourrir la phase spéculative d'un sentiment nouveau et bouleversant devant la matière, devant ses pouvoirs
​magiques et totémiques que masques et idoles lui font ressentir. Dans la série magistrale des oeuvres inspirées par le Congo, l'abstraction des formes est vitalisée par la présence de différents matériaux incorporés à l'huile   Serge Goyens de Heusch

​"Crouching nude" 1946, pencil drawing, 33 x 25,5 cm
Inscription "A Robert et Suzy" (Delevoy, founders of galerie Apollo in Brussels)

"Sawa" 1954, oil on canvas, 50 x 51 cm
Sold at Cornette de St-Cyr Brussels in 2021 for 8.190 Euro premium included

 "HAKIKA" ​("Truth" in Swahili) 1954, oil on panel, 24 x 18 cm
​Available

 "Siku Zote" (always in Swahili) 1954, oil on canvas, 97 x 130 cm
Exhibited in Milan 1954, Tervuren Museum 1955, Ixelles Museum 1964
​Available, Call 02 539.23.09 or [email protected]

View of the Jean Milo room at the Palazzo della Permanente, Milan
Exhibition "Pittura belga contemporanea" 1954

View of the Jean Milo exhibition at Group 2 Gallery, 2006

"Large hierophany" 1950, oil on canvas, 195 x 97 cm (Sold)
​Tribute to the stained glass windows of the Chartres cathedral
Private collection, U.S.A.

The group "Abstract art" at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, 1952
​Seated : Jo Delahaut and Jean Milo
​Standing : Lépold Plomteux, Pol Bury, Georges Carrey, Jan Saverys, Jan Burssens
Pour moi, l'art abstrait n'est pas une religion. C'est un moyen de s'exprimer. Devant une difficulté plastique à résoudre on ne peut pas se servir du paravent du sujet. J'en arrive à la conclusion que, même dans l'oeuvre figurative la plus interprétée, le sujet est une sorte de  maquillage sous lequel il faut regarder le message plastique.   Jean Milo, 1955

"Composition no 5" 1953, oil on canvas, 96 x 129 cm (Sold)
Exhibitions : Ostend museum, Ixelles museum

"Feza" 1955, oil & collage on panel, 122 x 283 cm (Sold)
Represents the "Katanga crosses or mwangaza" used as trade currency
Exhibitions : Tervuren museum 1955, Royal museum of Fine Arts, 1986

"Alleluia (Haendel)" 1957-58, Oil on canvas, 116 x 89 cm (Sold)
Exhibition : Ixelles Museum 1964, Royal museum of Fine Arts 1986

"Tribute to James Ensor - les bains de mer en liberté" 1962, oil on canvas, 162 x 130 cm (Sold)
​Exhibitions : Ixelles museum 1964, Royal museum of Fine Arts 1986

"The goat" ​1961, gouache (Sold)

Jean Milo and Jo Delahaut, founding members of "Abstract art" in 1952

Jean Milo  (1906 - 1993) studied at the Brussels Fine Art Academy in 1923 and became deputy manager of the famous Gallery "Le Centaure" in Brussels from 1926 to 1930. He exhibited in 1932 at the Schwarzenberg Gallery in Brussels. In 1933 he founded his own Gallery "Atelier de la Grosse Tour" in Brussels, where he organized an exhibition of Paul Delvaux. Member of the group "Young Belgian Painters" ( 1945-1948 ), he co-founded, with Jo Delahaut, the group "Abstract Art" in 1952. In 1953 he visited the Belgian Congo and made upon his return a number of works inspired by this trip. In the 1960's the artist's works gradually became more lyrical. 
In his works the artist pays tribute to fellow artists such as James Ensor, composers such as Haendel and Vivaldi and, above all, to the countryside around Brussels and to his happy family life.
Group 2 Gallery organized two solo exhibitions of Jean Milo in 2006 and in 2013 under the patronage of Mr Willy Van den Bussche, former director of the Ostend museum.

 

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