Toon Tersas

1924 - 1995

Born in Weert (), died in Dessel ().

Toon Tersas (1924–1995, Belgium) is the artist name of the ‘self-taught’ and ‘non-professional’ Antoon Keersmakers, who supports a large family by working as a clerk for an electricity company and is now described as ‘grossly underestimated’ during his lifetime. M HKA acquires a substantial amount of his works posthumously. Tersas’s calligraphic re-drawn newsprint pages from the 1960s and ’70s, often in languages other than Dutch, offer a sharp, sensitive analysis of how the public is manipulated by political power and its frequent use of violence. 'Portraits from the Cold War' are a good illustration of his subversive visual method.

M HKA Art Works

View all

Items

View all

Events

View all

Ensembles

View all

Media

View all

About M HKA / Mission Statement

The M HKA is a museum for contemporary art, film and visual culture in its widest sense. It is an open place of encounter for art, artists and the public. The M HKA aspires to play a leading role in Flanders and to extend its international profile by building upon Antwerp's avant-garde tradition. The M HKA bridges the relationship between artistic questions and wider societal issues, between the international and the regional, artists and public, tradition and innovation, reflection and presentation. Central here is the museum's collection with its ongoing acquisitions, as well as related areas of management and research.

About M HKA Ensembles

The M HKA Ensembles represent our first steps towards initiating the public to today's art-related digital landscape. With the help of these new media, our aim is to offer our artworks a better and fuller array of support for their presentation and public understanding.