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The Vanhaerents Art Collection is a family-driven endeavor founded by Walter Vanhaerents and today carried forward with his children, Els and Joost. What began in the 1970s—when a young Walter started acquiring works considered fierce and radical—has since evolved into a distinctive and internationally recognized collection that continues to grow with an independent, curiosity-driven eye.
Born in 1945 in Torhout, Walter briefly studied medicine before joining the family construction firm founded by his father, Leon Vanhaerents. His entrepreneurial path enabled the pursuit of a parallel passion: collecting art. Early encounters with German museums in the 1980s, notably in Mönchengladbach and Cologne, became transformative experiences that shaped a transnational and architecturally informed outlook on art.
A lifelong fascination with film aesthetics—nurtured by early exposure to Andy Warhol’s “slow films” (Sleep, Lonesome Cowboys)—sharpened Walter’s sensitivity to form and time. Artists such as Bruce Nauman later expanded this inquiry through neon, performance, and video. From these beginnings emerged a guiding principle that still defines the Collection today:
“Buy with your eyes and your heart, not your ears.”As the art world globalized throughout the 1980s and 1990s, the Collection expanded its horizons—embracing Japanese contemporaries such as Takashi Murakami, Yoshitomo Nara, and Chiho Aoshima, while maintaining its commitment to discovery and risk-taking. Over time, it has grown to include major works by Andy Warhol, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, Allan McCollum, Bruce Nauman, John Baldessari, Jeff Koons, Christian Boltanski, Franz West, and Paul McCarthy, among many others.
In recent years, the Vanhaerents Art Collection has further broadened its scope to include a strong focus on African and Afro-American artists, reflecting a commitment to cultural diversity and to amplifying voices that challenge and enrich the canon of contemporary art.
Since 2018, the Collection has been housed in a 3,500 m² converted warehouse in Brussels’ Dansaert district, redesigned by Robbrecht en Daem architecten. This innovative viewing depot model intertwines presentation, storage, and research, allowing visitors to engage directly with the living mechanics of a collection in motion. Through flexible large-scale displays, it revisits icons, highlights under-seen narratives, and continuously tests new ways of looking at art.
