How to Navigate the Legacy Blog of Henri van Bentum, 1929 - 2022

Henri aboard 60' sloop, en route from Ibiza to Pireaus

(For the account about this fateful 1961 voyage, see the post of August 26, 2008)

Welcome to the legacy blog of artist Henri van Bentum (1929-2022).  This site contains several hundred posts covering a vast array of topics, all written by Henri, beginning in 2008 when the blog launched. For a chronological menu of older posts, please see the lower left-hand side of this page. The site is curated by Natasha van Bentum, lifelong partner of Henri for fifty-one years.

Special Announcement : historic works by the late Henri van Bentum from his Private Collection. Now available to purchase for the first time.

Before his passing on April 2nd 2022 at the age of 92, artist Henri van Bentum authorized me, Natasha van Bentum, his partner of 51 years, to make available a few of his paintings from our Private Collection. Seventy-five percent of proceeds from any sales will go towards the Henri van Bentum Legacy Project, currently in the planning stage.

Please note: several of these paintings have not come onto the market for many years, and include works from the late 1950's and early 1960's.  (See the end of this post for "What the Critics Say about the Work of Henri van Bentum.")

Henri van Bentum, "Global WarNing", 1965
Acrylic and Chinese Ink on Paper, width 30" x height 24", framed under glass

Exhibited at Roberts Gallery, 1965

Painted long before "global warming" became a common term.

Formerly in the private collection of Mr. Leslie George Dawson

$17,500

Henri van Bentum, "Veined Ripples", 1965

Acrylic on canvas, width 30" x height 24"

Exhibited in Paris, France in 1966, 

at Galerie Raymonde Cazenave, Paris, France 1966

Reproduced in TIME Magazine, May 20, 1966

Formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Leslie George Dawson.

$17,500

Henri van Bentum, "Long Before", 1967

Acrylic on canvas, width 40" x height 50", framed

Formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Leslie George Dawson

$15,000

Henri van Bentum, "Season", 1962

Oil on canvas, width 26" x height 30", framed 

Painted while living on the island of Ibiza, Spain

From the private collection of the late Mr. Leslie George Dawson
$12,000  (canvas requires re-stretching) 

Henri van Bentum, "Dancing of the Spheres", 1977

Acrylic on canvas, width 40" x height 30", framed

Painted while living in Ottawa, Ontario, 1977-78

$17,500

Henri van Bentum, "Jubilato", 1977

Acrylic on canvas, width 30" x height 36"

Painted while living in Ottawa, Ontario, 1977-78

Formerly in the collection of the late Mr. Leslie George Dawson

$21,000

Henri van Bentum, "Borealis", 1964

Acrylic on paper, width 30" x height 24", framed under glass

Exhibited at Roberts Gallery, 1965

The only remaining work available in this series

$17,500

SPATIAL RHYTHMS Series - Watercolour on handmade paper

About the Spatial Rhythms series:   While living in the Rocky Mountains (in Banff, Alberta), van Bentum began a bold, Zen-like series of watercolours that he named "Spatial Rhythms". Henri continued working on this "Spatial Rhythms" series after moving to Vancouver in 1985.

"Spatial Rhythms" are a controlled, simple interpretation of inner feeling and symbolism. The work contains elements of music -- such as volume, mood and rhythm, which are translated into tonality, colour and composition."

Example of Henri van Bentum's Spatial Rhythms series, 1983

Watercolour on handmade paper, width 20", height 30"

Vertical series, created while living in Banff, Alberta 1980-85.

$12,500

Example of Henri van Bentum's Spatial Rhythms, 1983

Watercolour on handmade paper, width 20", height 30"

Horizontal series, created while living in Banff, Alberta 1980-85.

$12,500

What the Critics Say about the Work

of Artist Henri van Bentum

 “His microscopic attention to detail comes out most strongly in evocations of coral seen through the luminous waters of tropical seas, and in the textures of rock and ice caught in the suffused light of underground caverns.”   TIME Magazine

 “The best one-man show of abstract art I have seen in a long time is that of watercolours by Henri van Bentum. While too many artists seem to torture watercolour for expression, van Bentum exploits the natural delight of the medium so that it serves his most exacting thought.”  Globe & Mail

 “Henri van Bentum’s series of work, “Spatial Rhythms”, reflects his development into a controlled, simple interpretation of inner feelings; this series of paintings interprets the elements of music such as volume, mood and rhythm and are translated into tonality, colour and composition.   Peter Whyte Museum, Banff, Alberta

 When he marshals his colour into circles, then places them like water drops on the white canvas, van Bentum gets a rich intricacy of light and depth. Some have jewel facets, while others contain the subtleties of earth, leaves and bark.  Globe & Mail

 “Viewing a painting by Henri van Bentum is a stimulus to the imagination. Perhaps his background as a diamond-faceter’s son is responsible for the almost crystalline aspect of his work. The single most extraordinary quality in all his paintings is an incredible luminosity, a radiance that emanates from within.

 Completely introspective in his work, van Bentum is probably a born abstract painter.  J.W.G. ("Jock") Macdonald, with whom he studied, was one of the first to encourage van Bentum to develop his individuality, and it is certainly under Macdonald’s influence that he achieved his present independence.

van Bentum uses blank space as a positive.  The missing element is essential to the whole.  While none of his current work depicts any recognizable object, it immediately conjures up a mental word picture of a time, space, melody or situation”.   Canadian Interiors

Contact: Natasha van Bentum

vanbentum "at" gmail.com

June, 2024

Celebrating the International Day of Light 2024 - "Fruit Gathering" / "Organiverse"

Fruit Gathering: A Journey Into the "Organiverse" of Henri van Bentum, with Rabindranath Tagore - Part Two

With a focus on Light this contemplative online exhibit features a series of ten sequential video and audio chapters embracing one hundred mandalas ("Organiverse" Starry Night edition, created by artist Henri van Bentum) with the eighty-six poems, "Fruit Gathering" by Tagore, exploring themes of light and life. Read by producer Brian W.E. Johnson.

Mandala #25 from #100 set, Organiverse, Henri van Bentum, 1972

Join us as we explore Rabindranath’s epic work “Fruit Gathering”, comprised of eighty-six poems, paired with the 100 mandalas of Henri van Bentum’s “Organiverse – Starry Night edition”.  

Each poem is read by producer Brian W.E. Johnson.  

Just as Rabindranath Tagore uses light as a symbol for hope and freedom, and to represent divine love, Henri van Bentum’s Organiverse series is a glimpse into the multi-layered beauty of all that is life and light, a dance of colour, form and contemplation.

Link to the full playlist:  

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLimVRC0ywrmjNrYPJkFNqLRqim15PMpK0

This project is a sequel to the "Gitanjali/Organiverse" exhibit, described in our post of January 5, 2022. For full details click here. 

More about Organiverse, both the Original and Starry Night editions, can be found here. 

For a link to the special issue of "Gitanjali and Beyond", Issue #7. published by the Scottish Centre of Tagore Studies, click here.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

                                                                             

Remembering With Joy, Artist Henri van Bentum (1929-2022), and the healing power of Art

On the Healing Power of Art

"Henri, the 'Maestro', 

lives on in our hearts and minds 

every day."  Natasha van Bentum

Henri van Bentum, 

1929-2022

Tuesday, 2nd April marked the second anniversary of Henri's passing. Henri often spoke of the healing power of art. He was acutely aware of this, having begun to paint while in a tuberculosis sanatorium in the Netherlands after WWII.  The doctors said painting was a major factor in his recovery. 

Over the past two years, I have found his paintings here in our private collection have brought both solace and much joy. 

Here are a few words by others about Henri's work, as well as s short 'poem' Henri wrote many years ago, "What Is A Creative Person Like?"

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“The brightness that leaps from his canvasses is like crystals seen through a microscope.” TIME

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“Henri was generous with his heart and his mind, always creative. He set a high-water mark for a life lived with integrity, focus and compassion.” Marina Bieler

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“As an artist and colour master, Henri van Bentum captured light and life, creating something beautiful, a choreography of colour and texture.  In Henri’s hands, the Universe danced.” Dr. Kimberly Kowal, NASA

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“Viewing a painting by Henri van Bentum is a stimulus to the imagination. Perhaps his background as a diamond-faceter’s son is responsible for the almost crystalline aspect of his work. The single most extraordinary quality in all his paintings is an incredible luminosity, a radiance that emanates from within.” Globe and Mail

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“Henri van Bentum’s opus, Organiverse, is a glimpse into the multi-layered beauty of all that is Life. These mandalas offer an immense opportunity for healing and for a heart-based understanding of who we are physically, emotionally and spiritually. A dance of colour, form and contemplation.” Dr. Mark Sherman

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“Henri lived with enhanced fluid sensitivity, especially to colour, nuances of form, and shades and combinations… and, in addition to paying careful attention to detail, Henri embodied an expanded, or perhaps better said, an unblemished sense of wonder. 

These combinations and receptive qualities help to explain how and why Henri would often enhance situations and people simply by his presence, and this in turn, would inspire creativity and highlight beauty, in many diverse situations.”  Brian W.E. Johnson

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"While Henri is known as an abstract artist, his approach to the abstract is distinctive - perhaps it might be called an abstract ecology. It is this unique perspective in his art that invites a sense of connection to realities beyond the ordinary appearance of things - both to the cosmos, but also to the biological. In his abstractions, we see the resonance of the microcosm and macrocosm." Seonaigh MacPherson 

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What is a Creative Person Like? (written by Henri many years ago)

 THEY ARE EXTREMELY ALERT PERCEPTUALLY

Are observant of the world about them

Are aware of the feel and touch of things

Listen to the sound of life around them

Are sensitive to smell

Are aware of the taste of things

 

THEY LIKE TO ‘BUILD’ THEIR IDEAS

Like to construct things in material

Prefer to rearrange old ideas into new relationships

Like to experiment with various approaches and media

Like to try out new methods and techniques

Prefer to manipulate their ideas in various ways

Have to solve problems set by themselves

Seek to push beyond the boundaries of their thinking

 

THEY LIKE TO EXPLORE NEW IDEAS

Are original in their thoughts about things

Like to invent new ways of saying and telling

Like to dream up new possibilities

Like to imagine and pretend

 

THEY ARE CONFIDENT IN THEMSELVES

Flexible in approaches to situations

Like to be independent and on their own

Are outwardly expressive of what they have to say

Are not afraid of emotional feelings and show them

 

THEY LIKE TO INVESTIGATE THE NATURE OF THINGS

Like to search for the meaning of things

Question available data and information

Like to inquire into unknown quantities

Discover new relationships

Desire to uncover new meanings

 

THEY RESPOND TO AESTHETIC STIMULI

Are sensitive to the beauty of nature

Appreciate beauty man has made and

Which nature abundantly provides

Have feeling for harmony and rhythm

Love to sing, write, explore, cook,

act, sculpt, draw, paint or dance.

 ≈≈≈ 

For those who missed it, here is the link to Henri's obituary.

Posted by Natasha van Bentum, 

Henri's lifelong partner of 51 years

The Deployment of Henri's Reef off the coast of Vancouver Island - Artist Henri van Bentum, 1929-2022

"Coral Fantasy", acrylic on paper, 1965 Henri van Bentum, Private Collection

In Loving Memory:  Saturday, May 27th marked the deployment of Henri’s reef into the Salish Sea off the coast of Vancouver Island, at a dive and snorkelling site located near the Ten Mile Point ecological reserve.

Thanks to the people at Living Reef Memorial, the reef was created from Henri’s cremated ashes, crushed oyster and other seashells, low alkaline cement and sand. The reef has a ceramic plaque honouring Henri.

Just some of the underwater life (*) that can be found in Spring Bay, with its cold and strong currents are: frosted nudibranch, painted anemone, pink-tipped aggregating anemone, giant plumrose anemone, shiny sea squirt, three types of chiton, plus three types of dorid (leopard, Heath and Hudson), clown nudibranch, mottled star, blood star, green urchin, red urchin, purple urchin, and three kinds of sea cucumber.  (*) For this listing, thank you to Sara Ellison, author of the newly-published "Snorkelling Adventures Around Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands".

Soon Henri’s reef will be visited and inhabited by many underwater creatures. 

For many years, Henri went on snorkelling / dive expeditions to such faraway locations as the Solomon Islands, Fiji and Indonesia. He had a great love for all creatures of the seven seas. In addition to circumnavigating the planet by ship three times, in his eighth decade Henri wrote five children’s books, three of which feature coral reefs and the sea.

In the photo above, the arrow points to the reef at the back of the boat, about to be deployed. 

I only learned about Living Reef Memorial after Henri left us to continue his journey, but I know he would have found joy in the concept of “from cremation to creation”.

Here is a photo of Henri, back in in 2017, with his first children's book, 

"King Neptune's Jewels with Fins and Tails", hot off the press

Link to Henri's obituary.

Natasha van Bentum

Henri's partner of 51 years

More photos from the deployment of Henri's Reef

 

Here are some screen captures from a video by Living Reef Memorial of the deployment of Henri's Reef exactly two weeks ago, on May 27th.  

More details about the Living Reef can be found in the earlier post, published on the same day (scroll below).

The boat left from Esquimalt, en route to Ten Mile Point and the deployment site

Looking south, across Juan de Fuca Strait to the Olympic mountains 

Nearing Ten Mile Point 

The reef prior to deployment (Henri's plaque is on the back, not in view, see photo below)

The arrow points to the Reef about to be deployed

The ceramic plaque on Henri's Reef

Heading back home

In Loving Memory 

Henri van Bentum

1929-2002

Henri was a keen Snooker player, he would have enjoyed this:

This week my quasi-spoof, quasi-serious document, called "The Society for the Protection of Snooker Tables - An Endangered Species", was hung in the Billiards Room of the historic Union Club of British Columbia.  My beloved partner of fifty-one years, artist and keen snooker player, Henri van Bentum, (1929-2022) would have enjoyed it. 

Looking towards the west wall of the Billiards Room, the red arrow shows the framed document. There are two other full-size snooker tables in the room, shown below.

A photo of the late Henri van Bentum (1929-2022), shown in action in the Billiards Room

Natasha van Bentum

July 2023