Design Museum Gent is a museum in Belgium with an international design collection. The museum complex is located in the tourist centre of
Ghent
Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...
and comprises an 18th-century mansion and a modern wing. The museum holds a collection of Belgian design, supported by international objects.
History
![Design_museum_Gent_stairs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Design_museum_Gent_stairs.jpg)
Design Museum Gent originates from a private initiative of a group of industrial design and art lovers who united in 1903 as the Union des Arts Industriels et Décoratifs (Association of Industrial and Decorative Arts) and created a ‘Musée des Modèles’. Initially, the collection consisted of some hundred examples of furniture, complemented by subcollections of ceramics, copper and bronze, furniture fragments and a large textile collection. These models were housed in the Ghent municipal academy, situated in the Sint-Margrietstraat.
As the collection grew with purchases in the various pavilions during the
Ghent 1913 World Exhibition and further extension of the collection, the union sought larger quarters. In 1922 the museum moved to Hotel de Coninck on the Jan Breydelstraat, which the city of Ghent had bought a couple of years earlier. In 1951, under the leadership of a new director, Adelbert Van de Walle, three shows called the National Salons for Modern Social Furniture were organised. These took place in 1955, 1956, and 1957.
They invited local manufacturers to exhibit their furniture showcased in rooms as staged domestic environments and to take orders placed by visitors, thus facilitating the distribution of modern, affordable design.
By 1958, the financial burden had become too much for the Association of Industrial and Decorative Arts, and the city of Ghent took over the administration and management of the museum. Between 1958 and 1973, the museum was closed for renovations. Its reopening was followed by an expansion plan, resulting in the inauguration of a new wing in 1992, which accommodates both a selection from the modern and contemporary design collection and temporary exhibitions. The extension was designed by architect Willy Verstraete and was opened in May 1992. In the modern part of the building, a hydraulic lift in the central section can be used to adapt the height of the floors. The current policy of the museum puts greater focus on Belgian design from 1970.
Expansion and renovations
The museum currently closed and is scheduled to reopen in autumn 2024 after renovation and the construction of a new wing called "DING". The project is being led by architects TRANS, Carmody Groarke, and RE-ST. The new space will improve the museum's capacity to host lectures, debates, design courses, as well temporary small exhibitions, product launches, workshops, and other activities. The underground floors of the new wing will house art handling and restoration activities, as well as rest rooms and a cloakroom.
Collection
The museum collection has evolved from 17th and 18th century
applied arts
The applied arts are all the arts that apply design and decoration to everyday and essentially practical objects in order to make them aesthetically pleasing."Applied art" in ''The Oxford Dictionary of Art''. Online edition. Oxford Univ ...
towards modern and contemporary design from 1860 to the present. The objects from before 1860 provide the historic basis for the modern and contemporary design.
Design Museum Gent applies a broad definition of design, based on a series of criteria that can be found in a product: contemporaneity,
innovation
Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...
,
ergonomics
Human factors and ergonomics (commonly referred to as human factors) is the application of psychological and physiological principles to the engineering and design of products, processes, and systems. Four primary goals of human factors learnin ...
,
durability
Durability is the ability of a physical product to remain functional, without requiring excessive maintenance or repair, when faced with the challenges of normal operation over its design lifetime. There are several measures of durability in us ...
and aesthetic relevance. Both serial products and unique objects can comply with these requirements. Innovation can relate to form, function, material and production techniques. Purchases and exhibitions are focused on 20th century and contemporary creations.
Growth of the collection
The collection of Design Museum Gent took shape in three phases:
* In a first phase, between 1903 and 1930, the museum accumulated a collection and a corresponding library aimed at a 'musée des modèles', focusing on furniture dating back to 1600–1800 and some particular subcollections such as
Art Nouveau, Asian objects, textile and French
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...
.
* Between 1930 and 1974, the museum collection remained mostly static, not least owing to its closure between 1958 and 1973.
* The phase between 1974 and 2013 was characterised by an expansion of the international design collection with major purchases and donations. From 1977 onwards, curator and later museum director Lieven Daenens acquired Belgian Art Nouveau ensembles designed by
Henry van de Velde
Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...
,
Victor Horta
Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. His Hôtel Tassel in Brussels, built in 1892–93, is often ...
and
Paul Hankar
Paul Hankar (11 December 1859 – 17 January 1901) was a Belgian architect and furniture designer, and an innovator in the Art Nouveau style.
Career
Hankar was born at Frameries, in Hainaut, Belgium, the son of a stonemason. He studied at th ...
. In 1987, interior and furniture designer
Pieter De Bruyne bequeathed his archives as a designer and lecturer, along with a library and various furniture. In the same year, the collector N.F. Havermans left his collection of Art Nouveau and Art Deco
glassware
upTypical drinkware
The list of glassware includes drinking vessels (drinkware) and tableware used to set a table for eating a meal, general glass items such as vases, and glasses used in the catering industry. It does not include laboratory glas ...
,
ceramics
A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...
and
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
. Between 1980 and 2000, the collection added national and international designers. The Italian radical design by the designer collectives Alchimia and
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
(including
Mendini,
Branzi and
Sottsass) extended the museum collection. The appointment of Katrien Laporte (2013 to present) as museum director brought a focus on 1970 onwards in Belgian design.
Profile of the collection
The collection now holds nearly 22,000 objects. It mainly includes Western European design, with a distinct presence of Belgium, the Netherlands, France, Scandinavia and Italy. The collection focuses especially on interior-oriented design from private residences and offices. It includes applied arts and design dating from 1450 to present and is regionally, nationally and internationally diversified. It features comprehensive coverage of trend-setting design starting from Art Nouveau and hosts several notable unique objects of national and international design. The historic subcollection (1450–1900) covers a broad range of 18th century furniture. The proto-design objects from 1860 onwards form an entree to the modern design collection, which is initiated by the Art Nouveau collection and continues till today.
Proto-design
The museum possesses a small collection of objects designed by Christopher Dresser. The furniture of the Vienna furniture companies
Thonet and Kohn are at the dawn of modern design as well.
Art Nouveau
Design Museum Gent is known for its collection of Belgian
Art Nouveau made by
Paul Hankar
Paul Hankar (11 December 1859 – 17 January 1901) was a Belgian architect and furniture designer, and an innovator in the Art Nouveau style.
Career
Hankar was born at Frameries, in Hainaut, Belgium, the son of a stonemason. He studied at th ...
,
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy
Gustave Serrurier-Bovy (1858–1910) was a Belgian architect and furniture designer. He is credited (along with Paul Hankar, Victor Horta and Henry van de Velde) with creating the Art Nouveau style, coined as a style in Paris by art dealer S ...
,
Victor Horta
Victor Pierre Horta (; Victor, Baron Horta after 1932; 6 January 1861 – 8 September 1947) was a Belgian architect and designer, and one of the founders of the Art Nouveau movement. His Hôtel Tassel in Brussels, built in 1892–93, is often ...
,
Henry van de Velde
Henry Clemens van de Velde (; 3 April 1863 – 15 October 1957) was a Belgian painter, architect, interior designer, and art theorist. Together with Victor Horta and Paul Hankar, he is considered one of the founders of Art Nouveau in Belgium ...
,
Philippe Wolfers
Philippe Wolfers (16 April 185813 December 1929) was a Belgian silversmith, jeweler, sculptor and designer. His mature work belongs to the Art Nouveau style, while in his later years his work aligned with Art Deco. As a jewel designer, he was les ...
and
Alfred William Finch
Alfred William (Willy) Finch (1854 –1930) was a ceramist and painter in the pointillist and Neo-Impressionist style. Born in Brussels to British parents, he spent most of his creative life in Finland.
Life and work
Alfred William Finch ...
. These Belgian designers are accompanied by foreign top designers such as
Louis Majorelle
Louis-Jean-Sylvestre Majorelle, usually known simply as Louis Majorelle, (26 September 1859 – 15 January 1926) was a French decorator and furniture designer who manufactured his own designs, in the French tradition of the ''ébéniste''. ...
,
Emile Gallé,
René Lalique
René Jules Lalique (6 April 1860 – 1 May 1945) was a French jeweller, medallist, and glass designer known for his creations of glass art, perfume bottles, vases, jewellery, chandeliers, clocks, and automobile hood ornaments.
Life
Lalique' ...
,
Daum,
Richard Riemerschmid
Richard Riemerschmid (20 June 1868 – 13 April 1957) was a German architect, painter, designer and city planner from Munich. He was a major figure in ''Jugendstil'', the German form of Art Nouveau, and a founder of architecture in the s ...
,
Josef Hoffmann
Josef Hoffmann (15 December 1870 – 7 May 1956) was an Austrian- Moravian architect and designer. He was among the founders of Vienna Secession and co-establisher of the Wiener Werkstätte. His most famous architectural work is the Stoclet Pa ...
,
Otto Wagner
Otto Koloman Wagner (; 13 July 1841 – 11 April 1918) was an Austrian architect, furniture designer and urban planner. He was a leading member of the Vienna Secession movement of architecture, founded in 1897, and the broader Art Nouveau move ...
and
Georg Jensen
Georg Arthur Jensen (31 August 1866 in Rådvad – 2 October 1935 in Copenhagen) was a Danish silversmith and founder of Georg Jensen A/S (also known as Georg Jensen Sølvsmedie).
Early life
Born in 1866, Jensen was the son of a knife gr ...
.
Art Deco
The collection features French glassware by
Daum,
Lalique
Lalique is a French glassmaker, founded by renowned glassmaker and jeweller René Lalique in 1888. Lalique is best known for producing glass art, including perfume bottles, vases, and hood ornaments during the early twentieth century. Following t ...
, Marcel Goupy,
Maurice Marinot, Jean Sala, Charles Schneider, Gabriel Argy-Rousseau, and copper vases by Jean Dunand and Claude Linossier. The museum also possesses ceramic vases of Llorens Artigas, Fernand Rumèbe and services by Jean Luc and Georg Jensen. An idiosyncratic furniture collection was assembled by the Ghent architect Albert Van Huffel, designer of the
Koekelberg Basilica. The museum also holds his archives. Another notable item is the ‘Gioconda’ service designed by
Philippe Wolfers
Philippe Wolfers (16 April 185813 December 1929) was a Belgian silversmith, jeweler, sculptor and designer. His mature work belongs to the Art Nouveau style, while in his later years his work aligned with Art Deco. As a jewel designer, he was les ...
in 1925 for the exhibition ‘Exposition des Arts Décoratifs et lndustriels’ in Paris. Services from the companies Wolfers and Delheid represent Belgian Art Deco silverware.
Modernism
The
modernism
Modernism is both a philosophy, philosophical and arts movement that arose from broad transformations in Western world, Western society during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The movement reflected a desire for the creation of new fo ...
of
Le Corbusier,
Alvar Aalto,
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer ( ; 21 May 1902 – 1 July 1981), was a Hungarian-born modernist architect and furniture designer.
At the Bauhaus he designed the Wassily Chair and the Cesca Chair, which ''The New York Times'' have called some of the most i ...
,
Mies van der Rhoe and
Lilly Reich
Lilly Reich (16 June 1885 – 14 December 1947) was a German designer of textiles, furniture, interiors, and exhibition spaces. She was a close collaborator with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe for more than ten years during the Weimar period in the 19 ...
(
Knoll
In geography, knoll is another term for a knowe or hillock, a small, low, round natural hill or mound.
Knoll may also refer to:
Places
* Knoll Camp, site of an Iron Age hill fort Hampshire, England, United Kingdom
* Knoll Lake, Leonard Canyon, A ...
collection), Christa Ehrlich,
Poul Henningsen and
Wilhelm Wagenfeld contrasts with the sumptuous Art Deco. The Flemish architect-designers Gaston Eysselinck and
Huib Hoste
Hubrecht (Huib) Hoste (6 February 1881 – 18 August 1957) was a Belgian architect, designer and urban planner. He is considered the pioneer of modern architecture in Belgium.
Life
Huib Hoste was born in Bruges on 6 February 1881. His birth w ...
are featured.
Organic design
The collection also includes a selection of modern design dating from the period 1945–1965 with furniture of Belgian designers such as
Willy Van der Meeren,
Alfred Hendrickx,
Emiel Veranneman,
Pieter De Bruyne,
Jules Wabbes,
Léon Stynen
Léon Stynen (15 July 1899 – 13 May 1990) was a Belgian architect, urban planner and designer, from Antwerp. Some of his buildings have been categorized as "refined" Brutalist architecture and modern architecture. He has been called one of Bel ...
, and
Christophe Gevers; American designers
Florence Knoll
Florence Marguerite Knoll Bassett ( Schust; May 24, 1917 – January 25, 2019) was an American architect, interior designer, furniture designer, and entrepreneur who has been credited with revolutionizing office design and bringing modernist desi ...
,
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames ( Charles Eames, Jr) and Ray Eames ( Ray-Bernice Eames) were an American married couple of industrial designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture through the work of ...
; Scandinavian designers
Arne Jacobsen
Arne Emil Jacobsen, Hon. FAIA () 11 February 1902 – 24 March 1971) was a Danish architect and furniture designer. He is remembered for his contribution to architectural functionalism and for the worldwide success he enjoyed with simple we ...
,
Hans Wegner
Hans Jørgensen Wegner (April 2, 1914 - January 26, 2007) was a Danish furniture designer. His work, along with a concerted effort from several of his manufacturers, contributed to the international popularity of mid-century Danish design. His sty ...
,
Verner Panton
Verner Panton (13 February 1926 – 5 September 1998) is considered one of Denmark's most influential 20th-century furniture and interior designers. During his career, he created innovative and futuristic designs in a variety of materials, especi ...
,
Yrjö Kukkapuro, Tapio Wirkkala, and
Kristian Vedel; and Italian designers Joe Colombo,
Carlo Scarpa
Carlo Scarpa (2 June 1906 – 28 November 1978) was an Italian architect, influenced by the materials, landscape and the history of Venetian culture, and by Japan. Scarpa translated his interests in history, regionalism, invention, and the tec ...
(Cleto Munari). The Netherlands and Scandinavia are represented by glassware of the companies
Royal Leerdam Crystal
Royal Leerdam Crystal (also known as Royal Leerdam) was a Dutch producer of glassware products based in Leerdam, the Netherlands. It was established in 1878 as a department within a glassware producing factory, , itself founded in 1765. From 1938 ...
(Andries Dirk Copier),
Orrefors (Sven Palmqvist),
Venini and
Iittala
Iittala, founded as a glassworks in 1881, is a Finnish design brand specialising in design objects, tableware and cookware. Iittala's official i-logo was designed by Timo Sarpaneva in 1956.
Iittala has strong design roots in glasswares and art gl ...
, and silverware from
Henning Koppel (Georg Jensen) and
Lino Sabattini (Christofle). The Belgian headquarters of
Tupperware Europe, with chief designers Bob Daenen and Vic Cautereels, contributes familiar kitchen objects.
Anti-Design
The museum possesses an ensemble of the Italian Anti-Design collectives
Studio Alchimia and
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
, represented by
Ettore Sottsass
Ettore Sottsass (Innsbruck, Austria 14 September 1917 – Milan, Italy 31 December 2007) was a 20th century Italian architect, noted for also designing furniture, jewellery, glass, lighting, home and office wares, as well as numerous buildings an ...
,
Alessandro Mendini,
Michele de Lucchi
Michele de Lucchi (born 8 November 1951) is an Italian architect and designer.
Biography
De Lucchi was born in 1951 in Ferrara and graduated in architecture from Florence. During the period of radical and experimental architecture he was a pro ...
,
Matteo Thun
Matteo Thun (full name Mathäus Antonius Maria Graf von Thun and Hohenstein, 17 June 1952 Bolzano, Italy) is an Italian architect and designer.
Biography
Matteo Thun was born in Bolzano in 1952 as the first son of the South Tyrolean entrepreneuri ...
,
Marco Zanini and
Nathalie Du Pasquier
Nathalie Du Pasquier (born 1957) is a Milan-based artist and designer mostly known for her work as a founding member of the Memphis Group. Her early body of work includes furniture, textiles, clothing designs and jewelry in addition to iconic wo ...
.
Postmodernism
An early postmodern piece of furniture, the 1975 Chantilly cupboard designed by
Pieter De Bruyne, leads off the Belgian design collection. Foreign designers such as
Michael Graves
Michael Graves (July 9, 1934 – March 12, 2015) was an American architect, designer, and educator, as well as principal of Michael Graves and Associates and Michael Graves Design Group. He was a member of The New York Five and the Memphis Gr ...
,
Bořek Šípek,
Richard Meier,
Hans Hollein
Hans Hollein (30 March 1934 – 24 April 2014) was an Austrian architect and designer and
Aldo Rossi are also featured.
International design
International designers include
Ron Arad,
Toyo Ito
is a Japanese architect known for creating conceptual architecture, in which he seeks to simultaneously express the physical and virtual worlds. He is a leading exponent of architecture that addresses the contemporary notion of a "simulated" ...
,
Hella Jongerius,
Peter Opsvik,
Barbara Nanning,
Marc Newson
Marc Andrew Newson CBE RDI (born 20 October 1963) is an industrial designer who works in aircraft cabin design, product design, furniture design, jewellery, and clothing. His style uses smooth geometric lines, translucency, strength, tran ...
,
Philippe Starck
Philippe Starck (; born 18 January 1949) is a French industrial architect and designer known for his wide range of designs, including interior design, architecture, household objects, furniture, boats and other vehicles.
Life
Starck was born on ...
,
Michael Young,
Marcel Wanders
Marcel Wanders (2 July 1963) is a Dutch designer, and art director in the Marcel Wanders studio in Amsterdam, who designs architectural, interior and industrial projects.
Life
Born in Boxtel, Wanders graduated cum laude from the Hogeschool v ...
, and
Frantisek Vizner.
Modern and contemporary Belgian design
Design Museum Gent features more recent and contemporary Belgian designers such as
Maarten Van Severen,
Hans De Pelsmacker,
Lachaert & d'Hanis,
Marc Supply,
Xavier Lust
Xavier Lust is a furniture designer and sculptor based in Brussels. He is best known for the unique technique of shaping metal that he uses to make furniture. The simple and original shapes created by folding and curving metal sheets without a moul ...
,
Pol Quadens,
Quinze & Milan,
Fabiaan Van Severen, Weyers & Borms and
Dirk Wynants.
Ceramics in the contemporary collection are by
Piet Stockmans,
Tjok Dessauvage,
Arthur Vermeiren,
Rik Vandewege and
Ann Van Hoey. Glassware comes from the ovens of the Antwerp collective L'Anverre and
Carine Neutjens. Silverware is designed by
Jean Lemmens and
Siegfried De Buck,
Nedda El-Asmar and
David Huycke. Samsonite (designer Erik Sijmons), Hedgren and Kipling (designer Xavier Kegels) luggage is also included in the collection. Recent acquisitions of the younger Belgian generation, represented by
Muller Van Severen
Muller is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
A–H
* A. Charles Muller (born 1953), translator
*Bauke Muller (born 1962), Dutch bridge player
* Bennie Muller (born 1938), Dutch footballer
*Bill Muller (1965–2007), US journalis ...
,
Maarten De Ceulaer and
Ben Storms, look to the future.
File:Tupperware in Design museum Gent.jpg, Tupperware exhibition
File:Interieur Sierkunst.JPG, Room in Hotel de Coninck
File:Stoel Vitra .03 van Maarten Van Severen.jpg, .03 by Maarten Van Severen
Alonso international glass collection
The collection of Spanish diplomat Antonio Alonso Madero comprising about 300 works in glass is held at the museum.
The collection includes pieces by
Tapio Wirkkala
Tapio Veli Ilmari Wirkkala (2 June 1915 – 19 May 1985) was a Finnish designer and sculptor, a major figure of post-war design.
Life and work
Wirkkala was born in Hanko in 1915. He attended the Töölö co-educational school in Helsinki. His fa ...
, Strömbergshyttan, Léon Ledru, Auguste Jean,
Emile Gallé, and other notable glass artists.
References
External links
*
{{Authority control
Museums in Ghent
Decorative arts
Design museums