Cutting-edge visual arts in Flanders
today
From Van Eyck to Tuymans, a centuries’ long tradition of visual artists
In our region there is a centuries’ long predominant tradition of visual artists that have a great
impact on the art production of their time and who continue to inspire the artists and world-wide
public for generations to come. For example, one needs only to think of Jan Van Eyck, Pieter
Bruegel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, Sir Anthony van Dyck and more recently James Ensor,
Constant Permeke or René Magritte.
This tradition continues to the present day. The contemporary visual arts’ scene in Flanders is at
its highest level with one of the pioneers in Marcel Broodthaers, followed by Panamarenko,
Raoul De Keyser, Jef Geys, Luc Tuymans, Jan Fabre, Wim Delvoye, Berlinde De Bruckere
or Michaël Borremans. Francis Alÿs, who was born in Antwerp, but lives and works in Mexico
City, is viewed worldwide as one of the most important contemporary artists.
Masters from Flanders in major art collections and art biennials all over the world.
Just as the works of the Old Masters belong to the great international collections, so too are the
works of our contemporary artists likewise purchased by the great museums for contemporary art
around the globe. They are invited to famous art biennials such as Venice, São Paulo, Sydney,
Shanghai, Sharjah, Taipei or Documenta and their works are exhibited in the best art halls and
museums such as the MoMA, Contemporary Art Chicago, the Kunsthalle of Budapest, the
Gwangju Museum of Art, the MOCA of Chengdu or the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art
Kanazawa. Or, closer to home, they are found in the Centre Pompidou, the Tate Modern, the
Musée du Louvre, the K21 of Düsseldorf, the Vienna Secession, the Hamburg Bahnhof Berlin,
the Vienna Mumok, the Barcelona Macba and so forth, just to name a few.
Curators from Flanders take the lead in major art institutions abroad
Our curators also play an important role in the international art scene and in leading institutions
and museums abroad. Jan Hoet, for example, was the curator for Documenta IX in 1992 and
Director of Marta Hereford in Germany. Jan Debbaut was the artistic director of the Van
Abbemuseum in Eindhoven and Head of Collections in the Tate Museum in England. Chris
Dercon is now the director of the Tate Modern after being in charge at the Witte de With and
Museum Boijmans Van Beuningenin Rotterdam and the Haus der Kunst in Munich.
Catherine de Zegher was the Executive Director and Chief Curator at the Drawing Center in
New York and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto. She recently curated the Biennial of Sydney in
2012 and the Biennale of Moscow in 2013. Ann Demeester was the director of De Appel in
Amsterdam and now directs the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem. Hilde Teerlinck heads the
FRAC Nord-Pas-de-Calais in Dunkerque after her work at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion in
Barcelona and Philippe Pirotte, former director of the Kunsthalle Bern and the Berkeley Art
Museum, was recently named the Director of the prestigious Städelschule in Frankfurt. They are
important ambassadors for the art scene of Flanders and play an important role in the
development of an international network for our artists.
A tradition of private collections and private galleries
Flanders has an exceptionally large number of collectors who play an important role in supporting
emerging and established artists and enriching the collections and exhibition programmes of
public museums. There are a number of collectors whose private collections have acquired a
museum status and who have opened up their own space to the public like Herbert Foundation,
Van Haerents Art Collection, Vanmoerkerke Collection or the Verbeke Foundation.
Collector Herman Daled sold his historical collection of works by Marcel Broodthaers to the
MoMa in New York. Baron Ullens founded the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing
to exhibit his collection of Chinese contemporary art.
Recently, the French collectors Myriam and Amaury de Solages opened Maison Particulière in
Brussels, a private house used for thematic displays of works owned by different private
collections.
The gallery scene also has a strong tradition with pioneers such as MTL in Brussels and Wide
White Space in Antwerp from the end of the 1960’s and in the1970’s.
The region has a number of outstanding galleries representing emerging as well as
established artists, situated in Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent and Knokke like Zeno X Gallery, Xavier
Hufkens, Galerie Micheline Szwajcer, Albert Baronian, Galerie Greta Meert, Deweer Gallery,
De Zwarte Panter, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Guy Pieters Gallery, Rony Van de Velde, Jan Mot,
etc.
They all gather during Art Brussels, which is considered as one of the important art fairs in
Europe. Less than 2 hours from Paris, London, Amsterdam and Cologne and combining young
galleries, presenting emerging artists with the more established galleries from all over the world.
What makes these art dealers and collectors so specific and famous worldwide is their high level
of quality and highly influentual personal taste and their exceptional passion for the artists that
they represent.
Traditionally a crossroads of the Roman and Germanic cultures and a key meeting point
amongst The Netherlands, Great Britain, Germany and France, Flanders is ideally located
to contribute to a flourishing contemporary art scene. Unlike other major European cities
or regions, Flanders has no large-sized or monumental museums like Centre Pompidou in
Paris, Tate Modern in London, Museum Ludwig in Cologne or the Stedelijk Museum in
Amsterdam, but it has other important and valuable qualities. What Flanders has to offer
by being located near these major cities, moreover, is a mix of historical cities, museums
for fine art, museums for contemporary art, art foundations, exhibition spaces and private
galleries. Institutions are of medium-size, but each very specific and innovative in its
collections and programmes. Examples of such institutions are: BOZAR, WIELS and Argos
in Brussels, M HKA, Middelheim museum, Foto museum and Extra City in Antwerp,
S.M.A.K. and Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Ghent, Mu.ZEE in Ostend, Museum M in
Leuven and Z33 in Hasselt.
Cities like Brugge, Ghent, Antwerpen, Brussels, Leuven and Hasselt are between a 30
minutes and a 2 hours drive away from each other.
This density of significant art institutions, collectors and galleries in combination with
internationally acclaimed artists and curators makes Flanders one of the most vibrant
regions for contemporary art in Europe.
Detailed list of artists
Fine arts (ancient and modern)
-Jan van Eyck, Hans Memling, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Peter Paul Rubens, Sir Anthony van
Dyck, Jacob Jordaens
-Constantin Meunier, James Ensor, Constant Permeke, René Magritte.
Contemporary art
-Marcel Broodthaers, Panamarenko, Roger Raveel, Bernd Lohaus, Raoul De Keyser, Jef Geys,
Walter Swennen, Lili Dujourie, Guillaume Bijl,...
-followed by generations like Thierry De Cordier, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Luc Tuymans, Dirk
Braeckman, Jan Fabre, Narcisse Tordoir, Ann Veronica Janssens, Joëlle Tuerlinckx,...
-younger generation of artists like Wim Delvoye, Michaël Borremans, Patrick Van Caeckenbergh,
Berlinde De Bruyckere, Honoré d'O, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Johan Tahon, Johan Creten, Johan
Grimonprez, Koen Van den Broek, David Claerbout, Ana Torfs, Hans Op de Beeck, Jan De
Cock,....
CONTEMPORARY ART CITIES
Brussels
In the past few years, Brussels has clearly become a very important city for visual arts in Belgium
and a real hotspot in Europe thanks to its fertile soil for artists and curators from all over the world
and for galleries from neighbouring countries (UK, France, The Netherlands and Germany). The
reason for this popularity is a mix of a flourishing artist community with international influx,
dynamic institutions like BOZAR, Wiels (the contemporary art centre with residency program
which opened in 2007 in the former Wielemans-Ceuppens beer brewery), Centrale for
contemporary art, argos and different project rooms and artist-run initiatives like Etablissement
d'en Face, Komplot, a dynamic art fair Art Brussels, a scene of passionate collectors, cheap rents
and a location that is easily accessible from Amsterdam, Paris, London and Cologne.
Leading international contemporary art galleries have opened venues in Brussels: Gladstone
Gallery from New York; Almine Rech Gallery, Daniel Templon, Galerie Michel Rein and Nathalie
Obadia from Paris, MOT International and CLEARING from London, Thomas Rehbein Gallery
from Cologne and Motive Gallery from Amsterdam. In addition to these international galleries,
Brussels has about thirty-five high-quality promotion galleries with leading players like Albert
Baronian, Xavier Hufkens, Galerie Greta Meert, Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Galerie Catherine
Bastide, dépendance, Galerie Jan Mot, Meessen De Clercq and new dynamic galleries like D+T
Project, Elaine Lévy Project, Elisa Platteau Gallery, Hopstreet, and so forth. Some extraordinary
smaller initiatives were set up during the past few years by artists or curators such as La Loge, Le
Salon, A.VE.NU.DE.JET.TE Institut de Carton, 105 Besme, Rectangle, De La Charge,
Middlemarch et cetera. Furthermore, private initiators opened spaces with extraordinary
collections and temporary exhibitions including Vanhaerents Art Collection, Foundation A
Stichting, Maison Particulière and CAB Art Center.
In 2014, these institutions present major exhibitions such as an over retrospective
exhibition of Michaël Borremans, the ‘Summer of Photography’ and ‘Rubens and his
legacy’ in the BOZAR as well as a large exhibition on the work of Ana Torfs in Wiels.
Antwerp
Antwerp has long been a creative centre. In the 16th and 17th Centuries, the city was home to
Masters such as Peter Paul Rubens and Sir Anthony Van Dyck. Due to the Antwerp Royal
Academy of Fine Arts, which was founded in 1663, and one of the oldest of its kind in Europe and
still one of the best, many important artists like Luc Tuymans or Jan Fabre live in Antwerp.
Antwerp has a robust museum infrastructure, with, in addition to a large number of museums for
older and applied art, the Museum for Contemporary Art, the M HKA, the open-air sculpture
museum of Middelheim and the Photography Museum. In addition, Antwerp has a few art halls
and exhibition spaces for up-and-coming artists such as Extra City, Objectif Exhibitions and LLS
387. Via artists residencies AIR and Lokaal 01, foreign artists are also brought into the fold.
Antwerp traditionally has a dynamic gallery scene with an international reputation that is situated
in the Zuid district around the M HKA such as: Zeno X, TimVan Laere Gallery, Galerie Van de
Weghe, Geukens & De Vil, Stieglitz 19, Galerie Mariondecannière, Galerie Micheline Szwajcer,
Jamar, Zwarte Panter, Annie Gentils Gallery, Axel Vervoordt Gallery, Base-Alpha Gallery, FiftyOne Fine Art Photography, Galerie Anette De Keyser and so forth.
In 2014, these institutions will present major exhibition of artists such as Panamarenko,
Narcisse Tordoir, Johan Creten, Jef Geys and Lili Dujourie.
Ghent
The contemporary art scene is well represented in and by S.M.A.K., the museum for
contemporary art of the city of Ghent. In 2014, S.M.A.K. presented exhibitions by Richard
Jackson, Thomas Ruff and Berlinde De Bruyckere.
HISK, the higher institute for fine arts, offers a post-academic course in audiovisual and visual art
for 24 young artists from Belgium and abroad, providing them with a studio of their own for two
years.
There's also a number of smaller spaces and project spaces like KIOSK.
The Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Deurle proposes each year an exhibition based on a private
collection and the biennale of painting.
Ghent also has a number of smaller, but dedicated private galleries with more adventureous
programmes like Galerie Fortlaan 17, Galerie De Buck, Galerij Jan Colle, Galerie Tatjana Pieters,
Kristof Declercq Gallery and so forth.
In 2014, these institutions will present major exhibitions on Dirk Braeckman, Art in Europe
after 1968 and Berlinde De Bruyckere.
Mechelen and Leuven
The historical cities of Mechelen and Leuven, each at a 20 min. driving distance from Brussels,
offer extraordinary opportunities for visual art lovers. M - Museum Leuven, an impressive,
streamlined new museum building designed by renowned Belgian architect Stéphane Beel and
situated in the heart of the city, integrates existing historical collection with contemporary
exhibitions.
In 2014, M presents a major exhibition combining contemporary and historical art around
the theme of 'Ravaged, Art and Culture in times of conflict'. Mechelen hosts an active
exhibition space De Garage and organises every two years the biennial of the moving
image 'Contour' (next edition 2015).
Hasselt and Genk
These two cities are situated in a former mining area, and they lead the way of innovation and the
relationship with design. Genk magically transformed a mining site into a hotspot of culture,
education and creation: C-Mine and FLACC serve as a working place for visual artists. The
House for contemporary art, Z33 has a strong international reputation in thematic exhibitions of
art, design and community.
In 2014, Z33 will present a major solo exhibition on the Flemish artist Leon Vranken.
Bruges, Ostend and Knokke
The museum of modern and contemporary art, Mu.ZEE, places its emphasis on the
contemporary artists in its unique collection of Belgian art from 1830 to the present. Moreover,
Knokke has a bustling gallery scene with places such as Guy Pieters, Mulier Mulier Gallery,
Galerie Patrick De Brock, Geukens & De Vil Knokke, Stephanie Simoens and so forth.
In 2014, the Mu.ZEE will present exhibitions representing art that makes up its collection
such as ‘Leon Spilliaert’, ‘Conversation Piece’, Cinema Joostens’ and at the end of 2014 is
preparing for the major art event entitled ‘The Sea’, under the curatorship of Jan Hoet and
Phillip Van den Bossche.