1/4 - In the style of a Flemish expressionism born of the rich fertile soils of the Low Countries, Wides conveys a characteristic perception

Sometimes compared with Permeke (many people can't sleep without having a benchmark) his painting brings a fresh breath of air, and one thing will always distinguish him from the Jabbeke master: the interpretation of hands. Permeke's famous "enormous mitts", inert at the end of the arms, take on a clearly more active role here, whether for caressing or for grasping. One notes also that Wides' characters are confronted by problems other than storms, floods or wars: they actually live pollution, violence and drugs

A self-taught painter, the artist arrived on the scene two years ago with a range of "heads" and bodies. Occasionally one is reminded somewhat of Decaux, especially in the play of contours. But unlike the French master, who painted mainly on paper, Wides expresses himself according to the general Flemish temperament that requires oil on canvas, because of the dualism this so often highlights: mystery and sensuality.

A true workaholic, Wides paints in a kind of frenzy, thus avoiding works that fail to speak out. This aspect is worth emphasising, for too many artists are silent, with tired canvases that are mere test-runs. He shows two main preferences for colour: one dominated by a slightly cold green, accentuated with strokes of lively yellow: the other of amber and honey. The latter exudes real warmth, not from the sun, but from the hearth of a cosy house.

The couples or groups of people that the artist shows us calls to mind all possible forms of communication, from the stirrings of desire to shouting one's head off, to marking time with utter resignation. Their message is not dulled by the lack of reference to place, and the plain solid backgrounds are totally timeless. The viewer is unable to look away from the actual subject. With these vague faces, and poses that speak directly to one's memory, the viewer can place the image according to his or her own criteria.

And this is not the least of this newcomer's qualities; he promises so much more.

Anita NARDON 
"Wides, homme de dialogue" (Août 1991)

2/4 - Wides has no forename. He is a newcomer, despite having already exhibited some works at the Louis Hutse Gallery. We have seen him here and there in general exhibitions, and now he is on display, in all his primitivism, with picture-rails to match.

He is a self-taught artist who is not afraid to paint on a grand scale and who finds it perfectly natural to apply broad trowelled strokes. While his paintings do not exude a great deal of softness, indeed they are rather surly and somewhat brutal, we could say that Wides paints with a frenzy that drives the tools in his hands and slaps on the canvas his nude women with their flesh of old ivory, or characters of dark brown or greenish grey hue sat down at the table, huddled up together, but without really knowing what to say to each other.

They are the "pregnant ones " or the "amorous ones", or families with weather-beaten faces sharply lit up, bound together by a primitive affection. Occasionally, a lone man pricks up his ears, his face flushing with emotion. He dreams while listening to music and opens his eyes wide as if to hear better. In general, Wides characters are strongly contoured, bluntly constructed, with skeletal frameworks and facial features that are brutally exposed.

We could say that here is an art that is not yet fully developed, an art that contains a power that could be better harnessed. There is much encouraging potential, but we are entitled to insist that his portrayer of ordinary live takes the next necessary steps and accepts, for the time being, not being celebrated as a true renovator of expressionism.

Having said that however, from his exhibited work we can tick off a sufficient number of paintings that contain much more than mere hopes of authenticity.

Stéphane Rey
L'Écho de la Bourse (14-16 décembre 1991 )

3/4 - The painter Wides, who still has no forename, shows us today his original engravings taken from a single model. They are imaginative, refined, in black and in colour, very distinctive, and display a remarkable lightness of hand. Generally they are untitled, but we can manage without titles because the artist, by means of a strange transparency and the depth of his engraving, opens up an unbounded imaginative space where wiewers can play their own part.

If we think of Wides' recent paintings, of his strongly contoured characters with their blunt construction and brutally exposed skeletal framework, we notice that the artist has now become aware of the importance of a certain meditation, of a reflection upon the mystery of substance, and that his thinking has been invaded by a spirituality that is both solemn and peaceful.

The tiny Asian-inspired monogram, which stamps his engravings with authenticity, reveals a mental perceptiveness that would appeal to the most hard-to-please lovers of art.

L'Écho de la Bourse ( 22 au 24 mai 1993)

4/4 - An impulsive artist, Wides is a painter who assaults the eye, but speaks to the mind. He uses large splashes of ochre, of amber, of faded greys and blues to portray improbable physiognomies that are both haunted and haunting. This art, utterly expressionist, radiates a moving tenderness that makes these "looming faces" so very endearing.

Wides structures his canvases in large energetic bands, detailed with incisive brushwork. He often resists the seductiveness of bright gleaming colours and restricts his world to sober yet vigorous shades, reinforced by a dark background
Only the expressive value of form and colour is allowed here. Wides avoids the snares of seductive imagery and his undeniably pictorial originality is firmly set in a purely personal space. He simplifies forms to coloured zones, either moving or fixed. It is the total abandonment of the fleeting glance and the absolute confidence of the artist's hand that convey meaning.

The work of Wides is alive with his cries, his anxieties, his desires. And also with the need for life to be shared.

Désiré Roegiers
Tenue de Ville n°2 (Mars 1995)