SUZANNE VAN DAMME
From Ghent to Brussels, Paris, Florence, Venice and New York
From Ghent to Brussels, Paris, Florence, Venice and New York
Suzanne Van Damme (Ghent 1901 - Brussels 1986) in Paris, early 50's.
1920's - 1930's : James Ensor
"Portrait of James Ensor in his Ostend atelier" 1925, oil on panel, 90 x 120 cm
Suzanne painted this portrait at the age of 24.
Private collection
Suzanne painted this portrait at the age of 24.
Private collection
James Ensor "Peintres aux prises" 1938, oil painting
Private collection
Private collection
"Self portrait with red brush - Autoportrait au pinceau rouge" 1933, oil on panel 63 x 52 cm
Exhibitions :
Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels, 1933; Kredietbank Grand-Place Brussels, 1988 "9 Femmes peintres";
Fine Arts museums of Antwerp & Arnhem, 1999, exhibition "A chacun sa grâce", illustration p. 365 of the book.
Illustration in "L'oeuvre de Suzanne Van Damme 1920-1945", Ed. La Boétie, Brussels, 1946 with a preface by Marcel Lecomte
Collection Group 2 Gallery
Exhibitions :
Galerie Georges Giroux, Brussels, 1933; Kredietbank Grand-Place Brussels, 1988 "9 Femmes peintres";
Fine Arts museums of Antwerp & Arnhem, 1999, exhibition "A chacun sa grâce", illustration p. 365 of the book.
Illustration in "L'oeuvre de Suzanne Van Damme 1920-1945", Ed. La Boétie, Brussels, 1946 with a preface by Marcel Lecomte
Collection Group 2 Gallery
Invitation cards exhibitions at Galerie Manteau, 1931 & Galerie Georges Giroux Brussels, 1933
Invitation card of an exhibition at Galerie Marcel Bernheim, Paris, 1935
"Still life with strawberries" 1937, oil on canvas, 31 x 48 cm
Available
Available
"View of San Gimignano", 1930's, oil on canvas, 65 x 80 cm
Available
Available
"San Gimignano", Tuscany
"View of the Port of Marseille" 1930's, gouache
Available
Available
"View of Beaulieu-sur-Mer from St-Jean Cap Ferrat" 1930's, gouache
Available
Available
1940's - 1950's : Surrealism
In 1947 André Breton invites Suzanne Van Damme and her husband Bruno Capacci
to participate in the International Surrealist exhibition at Galerie Maeght in Paris.
Monographies de l'art belge, by Roger Bodart, 1953
"Equilibre" 1946, oil on panel, 134 x 122 cm (Sold)
Exhibited at the Fine Arts museum of Antwerp & Arnhem, 1999,
Sotheby's New York, 2015 "Cherchez la femme"
Exhibited at the Fine Arts museum of Antwerp & Arnhem, 1999,
Sotheby's New York, 2015 "Cherchez la femme"
"Portrait of singer and actress Suzy Solidor (1900-1983)" 1946, oil on canvas, 220 x 109 cm
Collection of the Grimaldi Castle Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
This collection features 43 portraits by Van Dongen, Picabia, Foujita, de Vlaminck, Cocteau, Marie Laurencin, Tamara de Lempicka etc.
Collection of the Grimaldi Castle Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer, France
This collection features 43 portraits by Van Dongen, Picabia, Foujita, de Vlaminck, Cocteau, Marie Laurencin, Tamara de Lempicka etc.
"Female whim - Caprice féminin" 1947, oil on panel, 54 x 44,5 cm
Collection Group 2 Gallery
Collection Group 2 Gallery
"La couleur assiégée" 1947, oil on panel, 225 x 123 cm
Exhibited and sold at Sotheby's New York exhibition "Cherchez la femme", 2015
Exhibited and sold at Sotheby's New York exhibition "Cherchez la femme", 2015
Suzanne Van Damme at Galerie Isy Brachot in Brussels, 1973
Entrance of the "Cherchez la femme" exhibition at Sotheby's New York, 2015
Works by Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carringron, Dorothea Tanning, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Suzanne Van Damme a.o.
Works by Frida Kahlo, Leonora Carringron, Dorothea Tanning, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Suzanne Van Damme a.o.
"Surrealist composition" ca 1947, oil on canvas mounted on panel, 88 x 110 cm
Exhibited in 2023 at the Montmartre museum in Paris ("Surréalisme au féminin")
Sold
Exhibited in 2023 at the Montmartre museum in Paris ("Surréalisme au féminin")
Sold
"Enigme de la civilisation" 1945, ink drawing, 70 x 50 cm
Available
Available
Monography by Paul Fierens, Editions La Boétie, 1950
"Le masque du refus" 1952, oil on canvas, 50 x 67 cm
A tribute to the carnival in Venice, the city where her husband, painter, ceramist and poet Bruno Capacci was born
Exhibited at Sotheby's New York "Cherchez la femme", 2015
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]
A tribute to the carnival in Venice, the city where her husband, painter, ceramist and poet Bruno Capacci was born
Exhibited at Sotheby's New York "Cherchez la femme", 2015
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]
"Les Ancestryllus" 1953, collage of oil paintings on panel, 90 x 75 cm
A surrealistic representation of eggs in the tradition of Hieronymus Bosch.
Sold
A surrealistic representation of eggs in the tradition of Hieronymus Bosch.
Sold
Chicago Tribune, 1959 : exhibition at Marshall Field Gallery
1960's : abstract sculptural compositions
Van Damme exhibits regularly in the USA and at the Venice Biennial
Invitation card of her solo exhibition at Thibaut Gallery, New York, 1961
"Présence singulière" 1960, oil & sand on canvas, 130 x 200 cm
Exhibited in New York, Thibaut Gallery, 1961
Available
Exhibited in New York, Thibaut Gallery, 1961
Available
Suzanne Van Damme in New York in 1965. Photo by Mrs Drill
"Liaisons salutaires" 1962, oil & sand on canvas, 114 x 168 cm
Exhibited in the belgian pavillion at the Venice Biennial, 1962
Available
Exhibited in the belgian pavillion at the Venice Biennial, 1962
Available
"Description démembrée" 1961, oil & sand on canvas, 161 x 129 cm (Sold)
Exhibited at the Venice Biennial 1962
Exhibited at the Venice Biennial 1962
1965 - 1980's : Ideograms
"Le gant précoce" ca 1965, watercolour, gouache & ink on japanese paper, 69,5 x 45 cm
Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels
Exhibition : "Imagine", Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels 2024
Collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels
Exhibition : "Imagine", Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Brussels 2024
"Oui, ton enfance veille sur toi" ("Yes, your childhood is watching over you")
ca 1965, watercolour, gouache & ink on japanese paper, 67 x 44 cm
Available
ca 1965, watercolour, gouache & ink on japanese paper, 67 x 44 cm
Available
"Cryptogram - Ideogram" 1960's, oil on panel, 125 x 125 cm
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]
Available, call 02 539.23.09 or mail [email protected]
"Composition", Mixed media on panel, 123 x 120 cm
Available
Available
"Cinq mots posés" 1970's, oil on panel, 120 x 100 cm
Features a text by her husband Bruno Capacci
Sold
Features a text by her husband Bruno Capacci
Sold
"Les puits de l'inconscient" 1970's, oil on panel, 117 x 123 cm
Collection Group 2 Gallery
Collection Group 2 Gallery
"Le folklore du romanesque" 1970's, acrylic on canvas, 116 x 89 cm
Sold
Sold
"L' autre dimension" (texts by Bruno Capacci) 1970's, oil on canvas, 92 x 73 cm
Sold
Sold
"Les failles de l'inconnue" 1970's, oil on panel, 200 x 93,5 cm
Available
Available
"Ces mots si longs aux couleurs de pourpre" 1970's, oil on panel, 237 x 105 cm (Sold)
Monography by Group 2 Gallery at its opening exhibition, 1990
"The Venitian", ca 1980, oil on canvas, 125 x 125 cm
Venitian palaces at the Canal Grande
Exhibited at Galleria l'Antenna, Bergamo, 1981 & Charleroi Museum, 2024 (Belgian women artists)
Available
Venitian palaces at the Canal Grande
Exhibited at Galleria l'Antenna, Bergamo, 1981 & Charleroi Museum, 2024 (Belgian women artists)
Available
"Ecriture" 1975, mixed media on paper, 67 x 44 cm
Available
Available
Series of 7 abstract compositions, ink drawings, 97 x 71 cm
Available
Available
Suzanne Van Damme was born in Ghent in 1901. Disciple of James Ensor in her early years, she painted the great Master in his Ostend home in 1925 with "The Entry of Christ in Brussels", which now belongs to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles- in the background. In 1938 Ensor painted a canvas "Peintres aux Prises", featuring Suzanne Van Damme - pencil in hand - and himself seated and looking up at her. After several exhibitions in Brussels (Galerie Manteau in 1931 and Galerie Georges Giroux in 1933), Suzanne moved to Paris in the early 1930’s. Both Galerie de Paris (1934) and Galerie Bernheim (1935) exhibited her work. In "Le Dôme" in Montparnasse she met Italian painter, ceramist and poet Bruno Capacci (Venice 1906-Brussels 1996), whom she married. The couple became friends with french artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Jean Cocteau.
Van Damme worked closely with several surrealist poets such as Paul Colinet, Marcel Lecomte, Henry Bauchau e.a. Their poems were regularly dedicated to her, while her compositions turned into a mixture of literary and pictorial items. Her love for poetry together with her experiments in the graphic field, were bound to give birth to a new script, a kind of private alphabet full of signs and symbols, a mysterious blend of Japanese calligraphy and Egyptian hieroglyphs in mere black and white.
In 1947 the "pope of surrealism" André Breton invited Capacci and Van Damme to take part in the famous “Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme” at Galerie Maeght in Paris, together with famous contemporaries such as Arp, Bellmer, Brauner, Calder, Duchamp, Ernst, Giacometti, Gorky, Lam, Matta, Miro, Picabia, Man Ray, Tanguy, Tanning and many others.
When the couple moved to Florence in the 1950’s, Suzanne was very much impressed by the beauty of Tuscany, the colours of the earth, the sand, the pebbles, the marble… She started painting or rather "sculpting" abstract ondulating forms on canvas.
In the 1950’s and the 1960’s Suzanne Van Damme exhibited regularly in the USA : Chicago (Marshall Field Gallery 1959), New York (Thibault Gallery on Madison Avenue 1961), Los Angeles, Baltimore, Dallas (Calhoun Gallery 1961), Denver (Saks Gallery 1969) etc..
During her long career, Van Damme exhibited five times at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and she participated at the Venice Biennials in 1935, 1954 and 1962 and at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1953.
Her last period is certainly the most personal and interesting one. A series of individual abstract and figurative little scenes are brought together on canvas or on panel, forming a large patchwork. Most of these cryptograms - ideograms are painted in black, brown and beige, shedding a veil of timeless beauty over the primitive signals and the mythological figures. Others look like stained glass panels in every possible shade of blue, purple, red or orange, glowing with an inner light full of mystery. It takes a great deal of talent to reach the ideal harmony, the ultimate balance, the perfect Ying-Yang every artist is dreaming of. Suzanne Van Damme definitely had that talent. She died in Brussels in 1986.
The opening exhibition of Group 2 Gallery in 1990 was a tribute to Suzanne Van Damme. In 1992 the gallery organized a second solo show "Suzanne Van Damme - from Realism to Surealism", followed by a confrontation of her work with that of her husband Bruno Capacci in 1996. In 2010 Group 2 Gallery celebrated its 20th anniversary with another solo exhibition of Suzanne Van Damme.
In 2015, 25 years after the opening show at Group 2 Gallery, several surrealist works of Van Damme were on view at Sotheby’s New York Gallery in the exhibition “Cherchez la femme”, together with surrealist works by other female artists such as Frida Kahlo, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Dora Maar etc.
Works by Van Damme were exhibited at the Musée de Montmartre in Paris (2023), the Royal Museum for Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels (Exhibition Imagine in 2024) and at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Van Damme worked closely with several surrealist poets such as Paul Colinet, Marcel Lecomte, Henry Bauchau e.a. Their poems were regularly dedicated to her, while her compositions turned into a mixture of literary and pictorial items. Her love for poetry together with her experiments in the graphic field, were bound to give birth to a new script, a kind of private alphabet full of signs and symbols, a mysterious blend of Japanese calligraphy and Egyptian hieroglyphs in mere black and white.
In 1947 the "pope of surrealism" André Breton invited Capacci and Van Damme to take part in the famous “Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme” at Galerie Maeght in Paris, together with famous contemporaries such as Arp, Bellmer, Brauner, Calder, Duchamp, Ernst, Giacometti, Gorky, Lam, Matta, Miro, Picabia, Man Ray, Tanguy, Tanning and many others.
When the couple moved to Florence in the 1950’s, Suzanne was very much impressed by the beauty of Tuscany, the colours of the earth, the sand, the pebbles, the marble… She started painting or rather "sculpting" abstract ondulating forms on canvas.
In the 1950’s and the 1960’s Suzanne Van Damme exhibited regularly in the USA : Chicago (Marshall Field Gallery 1959), New York (Thibault Gallery on Madison Avenue 1961), Los Angeles, Baltimore, Dallas (Calhoun Gallery 1961), Denver (Saks Gallery 1969) etc..
During her long career, Van Damme exhibited five times at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and she participated at the Venice Biennials in 1935, 1954 and 1962 and at the Sao Paulo Biennial in 1953.
Her last period is certainly the most personal and interesting one. A series of individual abstract and figurative little scenes are brought together on canvas or on panel, forming a large patchwork. Most of these cryptograms - ideograms are painted in black, brown and beige, shedding a veil of timeless beauty over the primitive signals and the mythological figures. Others look like stained glass panels in every possible shade of blue, purple, red or orange, glowing with an inner light full of mystery. It takes a great deal of talent to reach the ideal harmony, the ultimate balance, the perfect Ying-Yang every artist is dreaming of. Suzanne Van Damme definitely had that talent. She died in Brussels in 1986.
The opening exhibition of Group 2 Gallery in 1990 was a tribute to Suzanne Van Damme. In 1992 the gallery organized a second solo show "Suzanne Van Damme - from Realism to Surealism", followed by a confrontation of her work with that of her husband Bruno Capacci in 1996. In 2010 Group 2 Gallery celebrated its 20th anniversary with another solo exhibition of Suzanne Van Damme.
In 2015, 25 years after the opening show at Group 2 Gallery, several surrealist works of Van Damme were on view at Sotheby’s New York Gallery in the exhibition “Cherchez la femme”, together with surrealist works by other female artists such as Frida Kahlo, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning, Dora Maar etc.
Works by Van Damme were exhibited at the Musée de Montmartre in Paris (2023), the Royal Museum for Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels (Exhibition Imagine in 2024) and at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris.
Early Years in Belgium: From Ghent to Ensor’s Ostend Atelier
Suzanne Van Damme (Ghent, 1901 – Brussels, 1986) began her career under the guidance of James Ensor. In 1925 she painted the Master in his Ostend studio with “Christ's Entry into Brussels in 1889” visible in the background, an early sign of her technical mastery and cultural awareness. These formative years rooted her in Belgian modernism while refining the portrait skills that would reappear throughout her long career.
After successful early shows in Brussels at Galerie Manteau (1931) and Galerie Georges Giroux (1933), Van Damme established herself as a distinctive presence among Belgian women artists. Ensor’s 1938 canvas “Peintres aux Prises” is a confrontation between Van Damme, pencil in hand, and the Prince of painters seated and looking up at her, a clear proof of the mutual respect between mentor and disciple. For collectors studying the avant-garde, these connections provide a reliable provenance and valuable art-historical context.
After successful early shows in Brussels at Galerie Manteau (1931) and Galerie Georges Giroux (1933), Van Damme established herself as a distinctive presence among Belgian women artists. Ensor’s 1938 canvas “Peintres aux Prises” is a confrontation between Van Damme, pencil in hand, and the Prince of painters seated and looking up at her, a clear proof of the mutual respect between mentor and disciple. For collectors studying the avant-garde, these connections provide a reliable provenance and valuable art-historical context.
Paris, Poetry & Surrealism: A New Visual Language
After moving to Paris in the early 1930s, Van Damme exhibited at Galerie de Paris (1934) and Galerie Bernheim (1935). At the "Café du Dôme" in Montparnasse she met Venetian-born painter, ceramist and poet Bruno Capacci, who became her husband and long-time creative partner. Friendships with a.o. Marcel Duchamp and Jean Cocteau broadened her outlook and placed her firmly within the European avant-garde.
During the war the couple lived in Brussels. Working closely with poets Paul Colinet, Marcel Lecomte and Henry Bauchau, Van Damme developed a distinctive private alphabet, a script of signs and symbols that fused literary rhythm with pictorial invention. Critics often described this visual language as a meeting of Japanese calligraphy and Egyptian hieroglyphs in sharp black-and-white contrasts, forming a Surrealist vocabulary that was at once intimate and universal.
In 1947 André Breton invited Van Damme and Capacci to the landmark Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme at Galerie Maeght in Paris. Exhibiting alongside famous artists sich as Arp, Bellmer, Brauner, Calder, Duchamp, Ernst, Giacometti, Gorky, Lam, Matta, Miró, Picabia, Man Ray, Tanguy and Tanning, she secured her place within the movement. This recognition remains vital for curators and collectors tracing the role of women artists in mid-century Surrealism.
During the war the couple lived in Brussels. Working closely with poets Paul Colinet, Marcel Lecomte and Henry Bauchau, Van Damme developed a distinctive private alphabet, a script of signs and symbols that fused literary rhythm with pictorial invention. Critics often described this visual language as a meeting of Japanese calligraphy and Egyptian hieroglyphs in sharp black-and-white contrasts, forming a Surrealist vocabulary that was at once intimate and universal.
In 1947 André Breton invited Van Damme and Capacci to the landmark Exposition Internationale du Surréalisme at Galerie Maeght in Paris. Exhibiting alongside famous artists sich as Arp, Bellmer, Brauner, Calder, Duchamp, Ernst, Giacometti, Gorky, Lam, Matta, Miró, Picabia, Man Ray, Tanguy and Tanning, she secured her place within the movement. This recognition remains vital for curators and collectors tracing the role of women artists in mid-century Surrealism.
Tuscany & Matter: Sculpting the Canvas
The couple’s move to Florence in the 1950s sparked a decisive material shift. Inspired by Tuscan earth tones such as sand, pebbles and marble, Van Damme began to “sculpt” canvases with oil and sand, producing undulating abstract forms that resembled low relief. These works blur the line between painting and sculpture, combining tactile richness with strict compositional balance.
This Italian period also redefined her Surrealist roots. Biomorphic shapes and layered grounds replaced dreamlike imagery with an almost archaeological sense of time and place. For collectors drawn to post-war experimentation, these works embody a distinctly European approach to abstraction, one that aligns with international movements yet remains uniquely her own.
This Italian period also redefined her Surrealist roots. Biomorphic shapes and layered grounds replaced dreamlike imagery with an almost archaeological sense of time and place. For collectors drawn to post-war experimentation, these works embody a distinctly European approach to abstraction, one that aligns with international movements yet remains uniquely her own.
International Exhibitions : Brussels, Venice & the United States
Van Damme exhibited five times at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels and took part in the Venice Biennials of 1935, 1954 and 1962, as well as the São Paulo Biennial in 1953. From the late 1950s through the 1960s she exhibited regularly together with her husband in the United States : in Chicago (Marshall Field Gallery, 1959), New York (Thibaut Gallery, 1961), Los Angeles, Baltimore, Dallas (Calhoun Gallery, 1961) and Denver (Saks Gallery, 1969). This transatlantic presence established a solid exhibition record and continues to support academic and curatorial interest.
In recent years, her work has re-emerged in major museum and gallery settings : Musée de Montmartre in Paris (2023), the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels with Imagine (2024), and Sotheby’s New York in Cherchez la femme (2015). Shown alongside Frida Kahlo, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning and Dora Maar, Van Damme’s inclusion confirms her lasting international relevance. Such recognition enhances confidence for museums and collectors seeking historically important women artists with strong provenance and international visibility.
In recent years, her work has re-emerged in major museum and gallery settings : Musée de Montmartre in Paris (2023), the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in Brussels with Imagine (2024), and Sotheby’s New York in Cherchez la femme (2015). Shown alongside Frida Kahlo, Leonor Fini, Meret Oppenheim, Leonora Carrington, Dorothea Tanning and Dora Maar, Van Damme’s inclusion confirms her lasting international relevance. Such recognition enhances confidence for museums and collectors seeking historically important women artists with strong provenance and international visibility.
Ideograms & Legacy: The Late Patchworks, Provenance & Availability
Van Damme’s final period is her most personal and recognizable. She brings together abstract and figurative vignettes into large patchworks, composed as cryptograms in restrained blacks, browns and beiges, or as luminous stained-glass palettes of blue, purple, red and orange. Each panel reads like a stanza in an unwritten poem, a measured balance of sign and silence, gesture and order. The result is often described as an ideal yin yang, a poetics of equilibrium achieved through decades of exploration.
Group 2 Gallery has promoted her work since its foundation in 1990, with an opening tribute, a 1992 solo exhibition (from Realism to Surrealism), a 1996 dialogue with Bruno Capacci and a 2010 anniversary exhibition. We continue to research, exhibit and sell key works by Suzanne Van Damme. Selected pieces are available and can be viewed by appointment in Brussels. Contact +32 2 539 23 09 or [email protected]
Group 2 Gallery has promoted her work since its foundation in 1990, with an opening tribute, a 1992 solo exhibition (from Realism to Surrealism), a 1996 dialogue with Bruno Capacci and a 2010 anniversary exhibition. We continue to research, exhibit and sell key works by Suzanne Van Damme. Selected pieces are available and can be viewed by appointment in Brussels. Contact +32 2 539 23 09 or [email protected]
