Middle Gate

In 1989 the renowned painter and printmaker Fred Bervoets travelled – in a move contrary to his sedentary nature – to Death Valley in the Nevada Desert, to visit fellow artist Albert Szuzalski. The series created during this period is a visual imprint of his memories of that trip: the sharp sunlight, the grandiose landscape, but also boredom, loneliness and emptiness, are themes obviously present in these works. This cycle comprises both paintings and etchings, both works made on site and works produced after Bervoets’s return to Antwerp, based on memories or sketches. Over time the difference between painting and etching has become so minimal for him that we can speak of painted etchings or etched paintings. This is clearly shown by this large-scale work, entitled Nevada. Etching traditionally means immersing an engraving in acid, whereby lines will be etched into the supporting metal plate. Bervoets replaces this method with the ‘inverted acid’ technique. He paints directly on a zinc plate with a brush soaked in acid. After the imprint is made, he usually paints on it, thus completely invalidating the multiple character of a normal etching. The directness of this technique, the limited and severe palette and the raw motifs combine to make Nevada visually overwhelming.