Collection Jeanne & Charles Vandenhove

Charles Vandenhove is one of the leading Belgian architects of the second half of the twentieth century. As an architect, he was always very committed to the visual arts: he involved visual artists, and integrated artworks, in many building projects. Less well known is the fact that, together with his wife, Charles Vandenhove built an extensive art collection. Their collection presents a very personal perspective on the European art after 1945. The couple collected a number of impressive ensembles of works by artists such as Henri Michaux, Simon Hantaï, Antoni Tapies, Giulio Paolini, Anselm Kiefer and David Claerbout.

Charles Vandenhove recently decided to donate his art collection to the University of Ghent. He also designed a research and exhibition pavilion, to be built next to the Ghent Book Tower, which will be used for research projects related to art and architecture.

The exhibition project at the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens is a unique opportunity that presents a broad overview of the most important works from the collection, and an important first step in the initiation of the academic research on the collection. This exhibition is part of the series of biennial presentations in the context of the disclosure of the collection that the museum has been organizing since 2007.