The Rural Belgian Art Space Redefining the Gallery Model

Gallery Network The Rural Belgian Art Space Redefining the Gallery Model Stefanie Verduyn's farmstead-turned-gallery asks visitors to trade a quick look for an immersive, nature-filled experience. Stefanie Verduyn's farmstead-turned-gallery asks visitors to trade a quick look for an immersive, nature-filled experience. Artnet Gallery Network ShareShare This Article Against the bucolic backdrop of the Flemish Ardennes, gallery founder and director Stefanie Verduyn has crafted an art space that not only reconsiders but challenges the art world’s idea of what a gallery can be. Situated on over three acres, Verduyn gallery is comprised of a constellation of historic agriculture buildings—stables, barns, and a farmhouse—that have been fully renovated and converted into a multi-pavilion campus capable of showcasing multiple shows across almost 5,000 square feet of exhibition space. Complementing and unifying these sites is a sculpture garden that further incorporates the natural landscape into the gallery’s program. Traditionally, art galleries are concentrated in city centers, tucked between other retail locations and relying as much on foot traffic and physical proximity to commerce as on relationship building. Inspired in part by her time spent in rural Argentina, Verduyn is carving a new path that instead proposes that art can and should be sought out and can also be a site of hospitality and connection rather than simply transaction. As critic Julien Delagrange notes, “the middle of nowhere is somewhere after all.” The approach leans into a growing desire among collectors and art enthusiasts alike to slow down and engage on an emotional level with art, contrary to the whirlwind art world calendar that sees fairs, shows, and hype constantly shift. While the gallery is steeped in local flavor, the roster of artists Verduyn presents is decidedly international, with artists hailing from across Europe, Asia, North America, and beyond. Presently, the gallery is simultaneously showing four solo exhibitions as well as a group exhibition, accented by the ever-evolving sculpture garden—a program that rivals any in metropolitan areas. “Stages of Flowering” showcases the work of Esther Janssen, who’s meticulously rendered landscapes appear at first glance studies in peaceful retraits, but upon closer inspection reveals more unsettling themes of inadequacy and the uncanny. Guust Mathys’s “Take A Closer Look” features playful yet thought-provoking sculptural works inspired by the sense of discovery when exploring a new city, which is balanced by a sense of surreality. The paintings of Alberto Lamback in “Quietude” poetically explore what it means to make images. Using a complex, multimedia process, the artist places focus as much on the literal act of constructing images as the final product, pointing to an emotional, psychological register that lies beyond the painting itself. And in Renée Pevernagie‘s “Shadow Work,” a research-driven body of work takes focus on the transitory and ephemeral nature of existence. Finally, the group exhibition “Al di là” brings together a diverse group of artists who collectively mine the nebulous yet potent ground that lies between memory and imagination. Taken together, every aspect of Verduyn is geared toward fostering meaningful encounters between artists, critics, collectors, enthusiasts, and more, with the gallery operating as much as a site of exchange as exhibition. With communal meals shared in the garden and its place away from any urban center, Verduyn is a place to be sought out rather than stumbled upon—it’s not a retreat from the art world, but a new avenue into it. Learn more about Verduyn here.