Abby brings Roelant Savery into dialogue with contemporary art and today's climate challenges
After Nature. Beauty and Decay, from Savery to Today celebrates the 450th anniversary of Roelant Savery's birth with more than twenty works by the Kortrijk-born master, over thirty contemporary artists from Belgium and abroad, five new commissions and a monumental rollercoaster in the Chapel.
With After Nature. Beauty and Decay, from Savery to Today, Abby celebrates the 450th anniversary of the birth of Roelant Savery (1576–1639), the Kortrijk-born pioneer of early modern animal and landscape painting. The exhibition takes over the entire museum, from the exhibition galleries to the stairwells, from the café to the garden.
More than twenty masterpieces by Savery enter into dialogue with contemporary art. His fantastical landscapes, exotic animals and exuberant depictions of nature provide the starting point for an exhibition that raises surprisingly relevant questions. How do we view nature today, as biodiversity comes under increasing pressure, species disappear and the effects of climate change become ever more visible? And what role can art play in helping us imagine a different future?
Seen through the lens of today's ecological challenges, Savery's work takes on new meaning and proves more relevant than ever.
"I am incredibly proud that we can finally bring such a significant number of Savery's works back to Kortrijk. Four hundred and fifty years after his birth in the city, Abby brings his work into dialogue with that of contemporary artist Bram Demunter, who is based in Kortrijk. Bringing historical and contemporary art together around such a pressing issue promises yet another exhibition not to be missed."
— Felix De Clerck, Alderman for Culture
Towards nature and after nature
Roelant Savery achieved international recognition for his exuberant depictions of nature, in which plants, animals, landscapes and geological formations were meticulously observed before being rearranged into extraordinary compositions. He brought together species that would never coexist in the natural world, creating imaginary landscapes where observation and fantasy merge effortlessly.
Four hundred and fifty years later, his work takes on a new significance. While Savery captured the richness and diversity of nature, today we are confronted with its loss. The biodiversity crisis, climate change and the profound impact of human activity on ecosystems make his paintings more relevant than ever.
Rather than presenting Savery as a closed chapter in art history, After Nature invites us to see him as an artist whose work challenges the way we look at the world around us. Through a dialogue with contemporary artists, the exhibition unfolds as a reflection on the beauty, fragility and resilience of nature, and on the complex relationship between humanity and its environment.
Savery and Bram Demunter: creating worlds
The exhibition opens with a remarkable encounter between Roelant Savery and the young Kortrijk-born artist Bram Demunter (b. 1993). Although 450 years separate the two artists, they share a fascination with creating extraordinary, imaginative worlds.
Demunter is given an entire exhibition gallery, where his paintings, drawings and sculptures enter into dialogue with Savery's work. He also presents new pieces created especially for After Nature.
Both artists bring together plants, animals, landscapes, figures, mythological references and personal narratives with a remarkable eye for detail. The Wunderkammer, or cabinet of curiosities, in which rare and unusual objects from nature and culture are collected, is another important source of inspiration. Their encounter reveals how artists from different centuries can approach the world in surprisingly similar ways.
A contemporary Wunderkammer featuring thirty artists
In the other main exhibition gallery, Savery's work serves as the starting point for a multifaceted group exhibition featuring more than thirty contemporary artists from Belgium and abroad. His fascination with animals, plants, landscapes and the changing natural world is echoed in paintings, sculptures, installations and other artistic forms.
Works by internationally renowned artists such as Louise Bourgeois, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Otobong Nkanga and Friedrich Kunath are presented alongside those of established and emerging artists, including Bianca Bondi, Gideon Kiefer, Kasper De Vos and Pei-Hsuan Wang.
Rather than offering a conventional art-historical survey, the exhibition creates a contemporary Wunderkammer, inviting visitors to discover connections between artworks, periods and ideas. Each artist explores the relationship between humanity and nature from a different perspective, ranging from wonder and beauty to ecological vulnerability and decay.
Five new commissions bring new artworks to life
After Nature not only brings together existing works of art but also encourages new artistic creation. Abby has commissioned five artists and artist duos to produce new works especially for the exhibition: Ruth Aerts, Younes Baba-Ali, Veronika Bezdenejnykh, Leendert Van Accoleyen and Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz.
These new works bring contemporary artistic, ecological and social perspectives into dialogue with Savery and Kortrijk's historical heritage. They also underline Abby's ambition to provide a platform for experimentation, new ideas and contemporary artistic practices.
A monumental rollercoaster takes over the Chapel
One of the most spectacular elements of After Nature is the monumental installation by artist duo Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz in Abby's Chapel.
For the exhibition, the artists are creating a new, site-specific version of You Ask Me To Not Give Up Up Up. Originally developed for the abbey church of Bellelay in Switzerland, the installation has been completely reimagined for Abby, responding to the architecture and impressive scale of the former abbey chapel.
An enormous wooden rollercoaster fills the entire Chapel. Its track winds through the space, reaching a height of seven metres. A moving loudspeaker travels continuously along the track, accompanied by a song by artist and musician Colin Self.
The rollercoaster's perpetual movement evokes the natural cycle of renewal and decay. Every descent is followed by another ascent, transforming the installation into a powerful metaphor for resilience, perseverance and the possibility of recovery.
Visitors can move freely through the installation, immersing themselves in an impressive interplay of movement, architecture and sound. The work brings together the exhibition's central themes: ecological fragility, loss, hope and the strength to begin again.
Belgium's largest and most diverse Savery collection
The exhibition draws on Abby's own exceptionally extensive Savery collection, the largest and most diverse in Belgium. It comprises ten paintings, one drawing and a series of prints after designs by the master. Together, they illustrate the remarkable breadth of his oeuvre, from landscapes and animal paintings to floral still lifes.
For After Nature, all of Savery's works from the Kortrijk collection are brought together, including two paintings recently recognised as Flemish Masterpieces: Plundering of a Village (1604) and Two Horses and Grooms (1628).
The exhibition also provided an opportunity to undertake a thorough reassessment of this important collection. Attributions were refined and two paintings underwent restoration. For this research, Abby worked closely with the Royal Institute for Cultural Heritage (KIK-IRPA) and an expert committee of specialist researchers.
Key works from museums and private collections
Abby's own collection is complemented by exceptional loans from Belgium and abroad. Major institutions including the Mauritshuis in The Hague, the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, the Museum of Fine Arts Ghent and La Boverie in Liège are lending key works.
Abby is also presenting remarkable works from private collections, including paintings that are rarely, if ever, accessible to the public.
The combination of Abby's own Savery collection and these important loans makes After Nature one of the most ambitious presentations of Savery's work in recent years.
The dodo as a symbol of ecological disruption
Savery's paintings reveal a profound fascination with the richness and diversity of nature. At the same time, they depict a world that would be dramatically transformed by human activity. Nowhere is this more tangible than in his representations of the dodo.
Savery is internationally renowned for his depictions of this extraordinary bird, which became extinct in the seventeenth century as a result of human activity. The dodo has since become one of the most recognisable symbols of biodiversity loss and the ecological consequences of human expansion.
In Abby Café, artist Ruth Aerts gives the extinct species wings once again. For her new commission, she has created a flock of dodos, imaginatively bringing the vanished bird back to life.
Public programme and collaboration with Natuurpunt
In collaboration with Natuurpunt and its visitors, Abby is also investing in the planting of new woodland, drawing attention to the importance of biodiversity and nature restoration beyond the museum walls.
An extensive public programme featuring workshops, lectures, performances and other activities further explores the exhibition's themes. During the opening weekend, highlights include the immersive sound installation Lament for a Burnt Forest and the temporary art installation Take Away Monument.
Practical information
After Nature. Beauty and Decay, from Savery to Today
30 October 2026 – 11 April 2027
Press conference
Thursday 29 October, 11.00 am
Please confirm your attendance at micha@clubparadis.be
Abby
Begijnhofpark
8500, Kortrijk
Featuring works by
Ruth Aerts, Younes Baba-Ali, Nienke Baeckelandt, Veronika Bezdenejnykh, Bianca Bondi, Pauline Boudry & Renate Lorenz, Louise Bourgeois, Aline Bouvy, Mat Collishaw, Caroline Coolen, Charles Degeyter, Louise Delanghe, Bram Demunter, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Kasper De Vos, Ritsart Gobyn, Anna Godzina, Victoria Iranzo, Patricia Kaersenhout, Gideon Kiefer, Friedrich Kunath, Tim Lewis, Simon Masschelein, Rob MacInnis, Otobong Nkanga, Marieke Pauwels, Tom Poelmans, Antoine Roegiers, Reena Saini Kallat, Roelant Savery, Guy Slabbinck, Helga Stentzel, Leendert Van Accoleyen, Floris Van Look, Eline Vansteenkiste, Simon Verheylesonne, Dittmar Viane and Pei-Hsuan Wang.
‘After Nature. Beauty and Decay, from Savery to Today’ is curated by Sarah Keymeulen and Thijs Dekeukeleire, in collaboration with co-curator Laurens Mariën.
Press images (download here)
