Joseph Ongenae was born in Antwerp in 1921. When he was in hiding during World War II he met Jan Cox, who taught him the principles of painting. Like Kandinsky and his theories, Ongenae was a dedicated theosophist and thus he produced his first abstract works. After the war, under the influence of cubism, his paintings became somewhat expressionistic. But he became more stylised, using less colours. His development shows remarkable similarities with that of Mondriaan. In 1953 he moved to Amsterdam, where he became inspired by this artist and he continued Mondriaan's neoplasticism. He was a co-founder of the Liga Nieuw Beelden, where he tried to integrate various forms of art. He also created a perspex object, painting some sides of it. This three dimensional "painting" attempted to create the impression that those sides floated in the air freely.
Ongenae died in Amsterdam in 1993.