From: De Neus #12 (1976).
Suzzy van Poeyer-Bailleux was a Belgian illustrator and designer, active in Flemish underground comix during the 1970s. She was one of the early members of the ERCOLA art collectve in Antwerp.
Life and career
She was born as Suzanne Van Poeyer in 1938, and studied portrait and model drawing at the Antwerp Fine Arts Academy. After her marriage to the Dutch-born surrealist sculptor, painter and ceramist Cesar Bailleux (1937-2019), she was known under her married name Suzy/Suzzy Bailleux. During her professional life, she has worked as an illustrator for magazines like Humo and Libelle. She also made drawings for school books for the Nederlandse Boekhandel and was part of Eddy Ryssack's original team at the TVA Dupuis animation studios. Suzzy van Poeyer-Bailleux died in 2015, at the age of 77.
Comic by Suzzy Bailleux, 1970s.
ERCOLA
In May 1974, Bailleux joined the Antwerp-based alternative art collective ERCOLA, short for "Experimental Research Center of Liberal Arts". ERCOLA was founded in November 1968 by the artists Jean-Claude Block and Jean-Claude Buytaert, author Dominique Donnet and photographer Piet Verbist, all former students from the Antwerp Fine Arts Academy. During the 1970s, more artists joined the collective, besides Bailleux also Luk Carlens, George Smits, Werner Goelen and Wally van Looy. At the time, Suzzy Bailleux was the only female representative of underground comix in Flanders. Living and working in the ERCOLA building in the Wolstraat of Antwerp, she created comics for publications like De Neus.
Family connections
Suzy and Cesar Bailleux's daughter Nancy Bailleux, who was largely raised in the ERCOLA building, has also been active as a fine artist. She began her career working in animation for Belgian television, and later opened her own vintage and handicraft store. Later in life, she moved to France, where she has been active with fine art painting and illustrator. Her character 'Meiske' has appeared on postcards and calendars, among other things.
Photo collage of the ERCOLA members of the 1970s. Suzzy Bailleux is number 3.