Skip to main content

Exhibitions

 

Every year, the Middelheim Museum invites artists for temporary exhibitions and rotating presentations.

Maurice Mbikayi,  The Aesthetic Observer (2021) © The Artist/De kunstenaar, Photo: Léonard Pongo © Maurice Mbikayi — Foto: Léonard Pongo

Inspired and challenged by collection and park

Sometimes we exhibit existing artwork in our exhibitions. Other times, we invite artists to create new work specifically for the Middelheim Museum. They are inspired and challenged by the park environment and the permanent collection.

Look back

Past exhibitions and presentations

COME CLOSER 

7 June until 29 September 2024

Middelheim Museum and DE SINGEL international arts centre jointly explore the space between sculpture and performance art.

Camille Henrot - Wet Job

11 June until 16 October 2022

Middelheim Museum is pleased to present the first comprehensive institutional solo exhibition by French artist Camille Henrot (*1978) in Belgium.

Young Artist Fund. The holes will be filled again

18 September 2021 until 16 January 2022

In the autumn of 2021, the Middelheim Museum, Delen Private Bank and Middelheim Promotors will be presenting the "Young Artist Fund", a targeted invitation to 3 young artists to create a new outdoor sculptural work for the Middelheim Museum.

Congoville. Contemporary artists tracing colonial tracks

29 May until 3 October 2021

An exhibition about the traces of the (post)colonial history of the Middelheim site. Several African and international artists will take the visitor on a walk.

Berlinde De Bruyckere

26 September 2020 until 21 February 2021

Berlinde De Bruyckere shares her quest as an artist with us. Starting from preparatory sketches, photos and drawings for her Middelheim exhibition in 1995, she takes us along in her thought process.

Ria Pacquée. They are looking at us, we are looking at them

25 May until 22 September 2019

New performances and installations of the Belgian artist Ria Pacquée.

Ana Mendieta. Earthbound

25 May until 22 September 2019

The first solo exhibition in Belgium of the Cuban artist Ana Mendieta.

Dennis Tyfus. My Niece's Pierced Knees

27 October 2018 until 17 March 2019

The first solo museum show of the work of Antwerp artist Dennis Tyfus.

Experience Traps

The contemporary legacy of baroque landscape architecture

The Middelheim Museum has asked internationally renowned artists from different disciplines to present new or existing work inspired by the innovative ideas of baroque landscape architecture. EXPERIENCE TRAPS is a collection of enormously diverse which will be set up in the Middelheim Museum and a number of city centre locations during the summer of 2018.

Recall Sculpture. Sculptures from the collection of the KMSKA

Sculptures from the collection of the KMSKA

RECALL SCULPTURE is an exhibition of table-top sculptures from the 1950s to the 1970s. The works come from the collection of the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), and were purchased at the biennials the Middelheim Museum organised since its inception.

Richard Deacon

27 May until 24 September 2017

The Middelheim Museum is proud to present SOME TIME, a solo exhibition of works by the leading British artist Richard Deacon.

Roman Signer. Projet pour un jardin

29 October 2016 until 2 April 2017

With the monumental installation Bidon Bleu, Roman Signer created a permanent artwork for the Middelheim Museum in 2012. Now you can rediscover the idiosyncratic work of this artist, who is also a scientist and performer.

Pom’ po pon po pon pon pom pon

24 October 2015 until 27 March 2016

Pom’ po pon po pon pon pom pon is an outdoor group exhibition, developed by the artist Lieven Segers and museum director Sara Weyns.

Le bruit des choses. 50th anniversary of the Middelheim Promotors

24 October 2015 until 27 March 2016

The Jubilee year of the Friends of the Middelheim Museum, known as the Middelheim Promotors, kicks off on 24 October 2015.

De Sokkel #10: Yan Tomaszewski

10 October 2015 until 10 April 2016

Creating an ephemeral monument with local specialties, such as fashion or chocolate, Yan Tomaszewski turns the Stadspark’s plinth in Antwerp into a sacrificial altar.

Andrea Zittel. The Flat Field Works

13 June until 27 September 2015

This summer the museum will be hosting the work of American artist Andrea Zittel, a remarkable figure in the international world of art. Zittel will create an installation in Hortiflora and existing work will be displayed in the Braem Pavilion.

DE SOKKEL #9: Guillaume Bijl

17 May until 13 September 2015

Guillaume Bijl corrupts reality for this edition of De Sokkel

Kader Attia. Culture, Another Nature Repaired

25 October 2014 until 29 March 2015

Kader Attia (°1970), a Franco-Algerian artist, presents his first solo museum show in Belgium in the Het Huis exhibition pavilion and in Hortiflora.

Allegory of the Cave Painting. The Other Way Around

25 October 2014 until 29 March 2015

The Middelheim Museum and Extra City Kunsthal jointly present a dual exhibition featuring the work of modern and contemporary painters, who provide an answer to the prehistoric Bradshaw paintings in Western Australia.

DE SOKKEL #8: Nicholas J. Hoffman

5 October 2014 until 17 April 2015

Nicholas J. Hoffman was selected during an international open call, which was launched by the Middelheim Museum and AIR Antwerp. He created a new work for De Sokkel during a four-month residency.

Johan Creten. De storm

24 May until 14 September 2014

In 2014 the Middelheim Museum invited the Flemish artist Johan Creten (1963, Belgium) who lives in Paris to exhibit new and existing monumental work in Hortiflora for the exhibition “THE STORM”.

Signed, the artist. Traces of the First World War in the Middelheim Museum collection

3 May until 14 September 2014

For many of the artist on both sides of the front line, the First World War interrupted their lives, cutting through them and their (early) careers, much like a blunt axe. The Middelheim Museum is putting these artists and their work in the spotlight again, with a temporary signposted walking trail.

DE SOKKEL #7: Jef Geys

1 May until 21 September 2014

Jef Geys, one of the Belgium’s most prominent and prolific artists, has created an interactive installation in Antwerp’s Central Park for this edition of De Sokkel. The plinth is transformed into an advertising column.

Henk Visch. Exactly as I remembered it

22 February until 23 March 2014

An experimental, collection-related exhibition, on paper and in the Braem Pavilion.

Folkert de Jong. Amabilis insania. The pleasing delusion

26 October 2013 until 6 April 2014

In autumn 2013, the new Hortiflora exhibition site and Het Huis will open for a tailor-made solo show by the Dutch artist Folkert de Jong.

DE SOKKEL #6: Folkert de Jong

6 October 2013 until 20 April 2014

Folkert de Jong also created a work for De Sokkel in Antwerp’s City Park – in the margin of his exhibition.

My Little Paradise

26 May until 15 September 2013

Seven national and international artists reflect on the art historical significance of the Garden of Eden and about the contemporary, social significance of a paradise.

DE SOKKEL #5: Ilaria Lupo - Private colloquies on a public sculpture

12 May until 22 September 2013

As of 12 May, the Italian artist Ilaria Lupo will exhibit a new sculpture on the nineteenth-century plinth in Antwerp’s Central park.

Antony Gormley. Firmament en Andere Stelsels

24.02.2013 — 05.05.2013

Naar aanleiding van de schenking van het werk Firmament III aan het Middelheimmuseum, stelt Antony Gormley een reeks polyhedra werken tentoon in Het Huis.

Vic Gentils and Rezsö Berczeller. 1+1=33

24 February until 1 September 2013

The "Large Chess set" (1966-67) by Vic Gentils (1919-1997, Belgium), a monumental installation with 32 unique pieces, is in the Braem Pavilion.

DE SOKKEL #4: André Romão - Notes on the history of violence

7 October 2012 until 21 April 2013

The Klein Antwerpen community association and the Middelheim Museum join forces twice a year for an experimental project outside the museum.

Het oog van de meester maakt het paard vet

8 until 29 September 2012

This exhibition 'Het oog van de meester maakt het paard vet' (The Master’s eye fattens the horse) is an encounter of three active visual artists and a group of creative people who suffer from autism.

Thomas Schütte

26.05.2012 — 11.12.2012

De Duitse kunstenaar Thomas Schütte toont een selectie uit zijn glazen en keramische werken voor het nieuwe tentoonstellingspaviljoen Het Huis.

Bernhard Willhelm and Jutta Kraus in the Braem pavilion

26 May 2012 until 13 January 2013

Fashion designers Bernhard Willhelm and Jutta Kraus will be making an initial selection of works of international relevance in the Middelheim collection.

DE SOKKEL #3: Study for different perspective

2012

The Klein Antwerp community association and the Middelheim Museum join forces to add a cultural dimension to an empty plinth in the park.

The Tiberius Principle. Exit 2011 - Entree 2012

30 October 2011 until 29 January 2012

New work by recently graduated artists in the Middelheim Museum.

DE SOKKEL #2: Art intervention in an Antwerp park

2 October 2011 t/m 29 April 2012

As of this year, the Klein Antwerpen community association and MIDDELHEIMPRODUCTIE will join forces to add a cultural dimension to an empty plinth in the park.

Erwin Wurm - Wear me out

29.05.2011 — 25.09.2011

Veelzijdig, verrassend, humoristisch: het zijn begrippen die perfect passen bij het werk van de Oostenrijker Erwin Wurm (°1954). Ontdek het zelf vanaf 29 mei 2011.

DE SOKKEL #1

8 May until 11 September 2011

The Klein Antwerp community association and Middelheimproductie have joined forces to add a cultural dimension to the city park.

Crossing

12 March until 23 April 2011

An exhibition about the future of art in public spaces. With works and sketches of exhibiting sculptures in an installation by the artist Hans Wuyts.

Into the light. Video and light installations in public spaces

9 until 19 December 2010

The third edition of Into the Light is an international exhibition project with presentations in various locations across Antwerp’s Zuid district.

ENTREE>EXIT

29 November until 5 December 2010

An exhibition project with recent graduates in the applied and free arts.

Zeger Reyers

31.10.2011 — 16.01.2011

Installaties van Zeger Reyers in en rond het Braempaviljoen

Kunst in Kievit: installation by Richard Woods

4 July 2010 until 1 July 2012

In July 2010, the British artist Richard Woods created a unique work on the back of Antwerp’s Central Station (Kievit neighbourhood).

HABITAT: a festival for spatial imagination

6 June until 4 July 2010

Artists, utopian architects and radical urban planners will occupy eight apartments in Antwerp’s Luchtbal district. They give their own interpretation of the notion of “living” as the last residents.

New monuments

23 May until 19 September 2010

Does the monument still have a future? The Middelheim Museum invited thirteen artists to reflect on the relevance of monuments in our time.

AD ID TEMPORIS: Angela Glajcar

14 February until 23 May 2010

The German artist Angela Glajcar created a custom monumental paper sculpture on the ceiling of the modern Sint-Anna-ten-Drieën Church.

From rain to sun (and everything in between)

23 October until 20 December 2009

Discover the 'On the road project' of Lode Geens and Tamara Van San. From Antwerp to Dakar and back.

Camiel Van Breedam. 7² x 2

18 October until 10 January 2010

An introduction to the objects of the Antwerp artist Camiel Van Breedam. EXTENDED UNTIL 10/01/2010 DUE TO GREAT SUCCESS!

Entree>Exit

2 until 21 October 2009

‘Entree>Exit’ is a selection of work by new graduates of academic year 2008-2009, who were trained at Artesis and Karel de Grote university colleges.

Exhibition in a Matchbox

5 until 27 September 2009

Under the supervision of the Antwerp artist Hans Wuyts sixteen young artists worked on one sculpture together: Artists Residence.

Chris Burden

30 May until 27 September 2009

With videos, sculptures and the installation Beam Drop by Chris Burden, the Middelheim Museum presents another ground-breaking artist.

A meeting between the tragic & the funny

29.11.2008 — 31.01.2009

Het HessenHuis en Cakehouse richtten zich met deze tentoonstelling op het punt waar tragiek en humor elkaar ontmoeten.

Rodin: Balzac, verhaal van een meesterwerk

12.10.2008 — 14.12.2008

Wereldberoemd is het beeld van de schrijver Honoré de Balzac (1799-1850) dat Auguste Rodin (1840-1917) van hem maakte.

Entree>Exit

26 September until 26 October 2008

‘Entree>Exit’ showcased a selection of artworks by graduate students of the Antwerp art colleges as part of their final dissertation.

Antwerp Sculpture Show (ASS)

12 until 14 September 2008

The Middelheim Museum and MuHKA organised a free exhibition with contemporary sculptures.

Spitsbergen

10 July until 24 August 2008

Seven artists use the desolate and intriguing landscape of Spitsbergen as a breeding ground for artistic expression.

Leo Copers

31 May until 17 August 2008

The temporary, unstable, ephemeral works of Leo Copers. Transient fireworks, enigmatic and surprising.

PROSPECT 58

2 April t/m 15 June 2008

Young artists invaded the Hessenhuis with PROSPECT 58 like they did in 1958.

Jan Kempenaers – Spomenik

18 November 2007 until 20 January 2008

Jan Kempenaers showed photos of monuments in former Yugoslavia in the Braem Pavilion in Middelheim Museum.

Paul McCarthy

27.05.2007 — 28.10.2007

Air Born | Air Borne | Air Pressure

Bivak Gloria

9 September until 25 November 2007

In 2006 besloten de respectieve stadsbesturen van Antwerpen en Rotterdam om in de toekomst meer samen te werken op vlak van cultuur.

Virus

6 May until 27 July 2007

VIRUS examined the relationship between the recognised or formal art world on the one hand and officious or informal art practice on the other.

Art and Margin

1 December 2006 until 30 January 2007

With works by sick, mentally disabled or isolated artists who are not well-known on the professional circuit.

Long live sculpture!

1 June until 3 September 2006

Eleven Belgian and international artists gave their own contemporary interpretation of sculpture as a genre for this group exhibition.

Renaat Braem and the Middelheim Pavilion

16 October 2005 until 19 February 2006

This exhibition featured a selection from the hundreds of drawings for the design of the Middelheim Pavilion, in the pavilion itself.

IDYL - as to answer that picture

29 May until 25 September 2005

Nine artists reflect on the status and relevance of sculpture as a genre.

The E-element. Matteo Galiazzo & Ola-Dele-Kuku

27 February until 22 April 2005

The Italian author Matteo Galiazzo and the Nigerian-Belgian artist and architect Ola-Dele Kuku were inspired by the letter E.

Search through our collection