Paul Mercken

Verhal’s biography continued from Mirrored Cityscape: Verhal obtained scholarships for Rome, Italy, in 1961-1962, where I met him, Lisbon, Portugal, in 1966-1967, and Germany in 1978. In September and October 1979 he worked in Boston, USA, and obtained a scholarship for Japan and had an exhibition there in the White Striped House Museum, Tokyo, Japan. In the beginning of 1998 Verhal opened a studio in Brooklyn (NY City, USA). Vandals burned it down and the workshop moved to Croton-on-Hudson, NY, USA, in the house of his oldest daughter. Verhal opened a new studio in Le Massif Central, Le Cantal, France, in 2002. Up to the present he divides his activities between France and Belgium. In the mean time his art has developed from rather monochrome to very colorful and one may discern in it a certain Japanese influence, I think.