Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Modern art museum in Deurle, Belgium
Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens is a long, single-storey white building with a flat roof on a lawn in Deurle. Its left section projects forward with a recessed entrance under an overhanging canopy and three tall narrow windows; the longer right section is a plain white wall bearing a small blue sign reading "14-18". Architect Erik Van Biervliet designed it next to the founders' villa Zodenhof.
In 1967 Jules and Irma Dhondt-Dhaenens founded the Stichting Mw Jules Dhondt-Dhaenens to make their collection, begun in 1920, publicly accessible. Architect Erik Van Biervliet built the museum beside their villa Zodenhof on the Leie bend in Deurle. In 2018 Hans Op de Beeck turned the 1930s Villa Meander into the Wunderkammer, and a pavilion was added in 2024.
The museum shapes artistic conversation in the village through exhibitions that bring together local and international artists, creating a place where people experience contemporary works and engage with them directly.
Visits are possible Wednesday through Sunday and visitors should prepare for walking around the grounds as the museum sits in a quiet village setting. It helps to allow plenty of time to explore the different gallery spaces at leisure and read information posted throughout.
The Wunderkammer opened in 2018 in the former Villa Meander, a 1930s villa on the museum grounds. Artist Hans Op de Beeck turned it into an immersive installation with architect Mo Vandenberghe, and it holds the personal library of Jan Hoet, former director of SMAK. It is the third permanent Op de Beeck work, after Hasselt and Japan.
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