Pol Bury Biography
Pol Bury was a sculptor and painter born in Haine-Saint-Pierre, Belgium, in 1922. He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Mons in 1938 and approached the surrealist movement through the magazine "Collective Invention" , which was led by René Magritte and Raoul Ubac in 1940. In 1945, he helped found the Haute Nuit group, which played an important role in publishing until 1958. Bury illustrated the collections of Achille Chavée and Havrenne. He met Dotremont in 1949 and briefly joined the Cobra group, although his work differed from their style in its clear and rigorous constructionism. In 1954 he founded the Monbliart Academy with André Balthazar. Bury participated in numerous group exhibitions, including the famous exhibition "The Movement" organized by the Denise René Gallery in 1955 alongside artists such as Calder, Duchamp, Jacobsen, Agam, Soto and Tinguely. He moved to France in 1961. Bury was initially a painter until 1953, when he first exhibited his "Mobile Planes" in Brussels. The geometric shapes were placed on an axis and could be moved by the viewer at will. In 1954, at the dawn of kinetic art, he created panels with oblique vertical blades covered with colored geometric patterns on a black background. The models looked different depending on the viewer's viewing angle. However, it was not until 1957 that he incorporated electric motors into his works, presenting "Multi-Planes" that moved slowly and almost imperceptibly. He further developed his plastic language and in 1958 incorporated light, spheres, mercury balls and discs. In 1961 he created the "Ponctuations érectiles" series, which worked with nylon threads, followed by the remarkable series of open and closed volumes that played with the fundamental relationship between moving and immobile parts. Bury's sculptures have continued to evolve over the years, with monumental works such as fountains. He expanded time and space beyond their traditional limits.
