Let’s Talk about inspiring collectors based in Belgium
Leading up to upcoming this weekend edition of Art Brussels, which this year is celebrating its 50th anniversary, we chose 5 inspiring art collectors from Belgium.
Some were born into the art world, others got into it at a later stage in life. Some are dedicated to painting, some are into a wide range of mediums. However, what connects these five art collectors is a passion for art, an eye to the freshest work from cutting-edge talent and a willingness to go into unexplored territories in the vibrating, ever-changing art world. Get to know five young art collectors, shaping a new generation of collectors.
Tobias Arndt
Everything started in 2004 with two paintings by Matt Saunders. Today the collection comprises photography, video, painting and drawing mostly from artists from Europe and the Americas.
In his own words:
”I recommend to get to know the artist in order to develop a feeling for the seriousness of the work”
Alain Servais
The Belgian collector started collecting art in the late 1990s. With a strong focus on emerging artists, Alain has built up a significant contemporary art collection which is highly versatile and forward-looking. Alain is also among the first to collect digital art and support young artists by offering residency program in his loft in Brussels where he keeps his collection.
In his own words: ”I collect to express myself. Adding my “sentence” around the “words” created by the artists. To share new ideas, questions, doubts, and surprises”
Wilfried Cooreman
He and his wife Yannicke Cooreman started collecting in the 70s and buying artworks at an early stage of an artist’s career. Those artists were not yet really popular, but now they have a strikingly valuable collection.
In his own words: ”[Art collecting] became a mental need and an intellectual necessity, because of a genuine interest in the works of art.”
Hans Waege
Brussels-based private collector, CEO of the Belgian National Orchestra, and Professor of Sociology at Ghent University.
In his own words: ”I think art is essentially aesthetic and when it becomes just a beautiful object or a political, philosophical or social critique it loses its meaning and essence.”
Walter Vanhaerents
Art collector Walter Vanhaerents’ private gallery – all 3,500 square meters of it, located right in the center of Brussels – is a unique institution in the present-day Belgian art scene. The exhibition ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ took place during the 56th Venice Art Biennale in 2015 – it was the first time that Walter Vanhaerent’s art collection was presented to the public outside of Belgium
In his own words ” I avoid buying art rationally. Pragmatism suits business, not art.”