Eloquent Formalism

The Collection Andries-Vanlouwe

On 17 November, MDD will officially inaugurate the renovated annexe with the exhibition Eloquent Formalism, presenting a wide selection from the Andries-Vanlouwe Foundation collection together for the first time.

The collection of Jan and Lieve Andries-Vanlouwe was initiated during the Cold War period. The canon of European art history still seemed valid, and the narratives about art as a means of communication across borders and continents were still somewhat undisputed. The collection reflects a deeply rooted belief in a democratic and open-minded idea of art.

Jan and Lieve Andries-Vanlouwe mainly acquired works from who were their contemporaries, but also earlier positions such as Léon Spilliaert, Serge Poliakoff, and Mark Rothko. Embedded in the discourse on Belgian art of the 1970s and 1980s, their concise collection draws lines of reference to post-war positions from the USA such as Rothko, but also roots its ambitions in the groundbreaking linguistic reflections of Magritte. It includes manifestations of the ZERO movement such as an early painting and a sculpture by Lucio Fontana as well as later responses to the purity of formal reduction and non-expression in the works of Hilde Van Sumere and Dan Van Severen.

Curator Nicolaus Schafhausen emphasizes color, line, texture, and other perceptual aspects in the exhibition rather than historical and social contexts. The presentation embraces a different approach, reflecting the idea of a “more direct” language as described by Hans Hartung.

About the Andries-Vanlouwe Foundation

For more than three decades, Jan Andries (1933-2015) and Lieve Vanlouwe (1936-2021) were pivotal figures in the operations and organization of the Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens (MDD). Their dedication as members of the board of MDD not only shaped the museum’s trajectory but also established them as significant patrons of various exhibitions and artistic endeavors. In 2013, they founded the Andries-Vanlouwe Foundation with the aim of preserving their remarkable art collection and making it accessible to the public. Additionally, they envisioned the Foundation as a platform to promote and support cultural and educational initiatives.

In conjunction with the exhibition and the loan, a catalog of the collection will also be published.