A Home for the Vandenhove collection: From Architect’s Dwelling to Exhibition Pavilion

For the first time, VANDENHOVE organizes a large presentation of its own collection. In 2012, the Liège based architect and art collector Charles Vandenhove (1927-2019) donated his collection of about two hundred works of modern art, together with a building, the so-called ‘Vandenhove Pavilion’, to Ghent University. The collection includes works by famous artists such as Pierre Alechinsky, Nan Goldin, Asger Jorn, Anselm Kiefer, Pierre Soulages, Luc Tuymans, and Andy Warhol among many others. Several artists collaborated with Vandenhove in his capacity as an architect: Daniel Buren, Olivier Debré, Sol LeWitt, Giulio Paolini, Niele Toroni, Marthe Wéry, Léon Wuidar, et cetera.

With a large selection from the collection, this exhibition exceptionally takes place on both floors of the Pavilion. In particular, it explores the tension between the domestic interior and the “white cube” of the museum. It takes place in a museum-like setting designed by Vandenhove but features artworks that were part of the architect-collector’s daily living and working environment. Occasionally, the display references the idiosyncratic display of the artworks in Vandenhove’s studio dwellings.

In addition, the exhibition comprises some pieces of furniture designed by Vandenhove, on loan from the Fondation Vandenhove in Liège.

An online collection catalogue will be published accompanying this exhibition. 

This exhibition also marks the start of a series of events in Ghent, Liège, and Brussels that highlight the architectural works of Charles Vandenhove, who would have turned 100 in 2027.

Curators: Students of the Research Seminar Modern Art in the Master program Art History, Musicology and Theater Studies at Ghent University, under supervision of Steven Jacobs
Scenography: Lisa Janssens (Department of Architecture & Urban Planning)
Exhibition photograph: Rana Van Pellecom