Xavier Hufkens is opening a third exhibition space in Brussels

​Xavier Hufkens is delighted to announce the opening of the gallery’s third exhibition space in Brussels, at 44 Rue Van Eyck. Designed by the Belgian architect Bernard Dubois, the addition of a new space will strengthen the gallery’s dynamic approach to exhibition-making and offer new opportunities to the artists of the gallery. The new gallery is approximately 350 m2 and is located just 100 meters from the St-Georges location. 

About the new gallery space, Xavier Hufkens says in a statement:

We could have opened abroad but chose to stay in Brussels. I want to prioritise quality over anything else, as it has always been the thread of our program. The third space will give our artists new spatial possibilities, new opportunities and challenges, supported by an experienced team. I want the gallery to be a destination, both physically and intellectually. A place where artists, art enthusiasts, collectors and students can come together. If we do this right, I believe art can reach beyond our walls. 

Bernard Dubois favours a rigorous and analytical approach combined with a frontal and inclusive aesthetic. Attentive to contemporary codes, he designs sensitive spaces and draws inspiration from different influences to create a coherent experience. 

Bernard Dubois:

“The design of Xavier Hufkens’ gallery incorporates centrality, a clear perspective as well as a few surprises, all the while working with sober, simple materials and a great attention to detail.” ​ 

The new gallery space will be inaugurated by artist Sterling Ruby as of June 18th with a new series of assemblages. The origins of these works can be traced back to the WIDW paintings that were first exhibited at the gallery in 2018. Digging ever deeper into his on-going fascination with the formal equation of the window, here the artist presents an ensemble of three-dimensional constructions in which painterly and sculptural techniques converge. ​
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​Sterling Ruby. A RELIEF LASHED + A STILL POSE ​
​18 June – 1 August ​
​Xavier Hufkens
​44 rue Van Eyck | Van Eyckstraat

For more information, please contact Club Paradis:
​Albane Paret
​albane@clubparadis.be
​+32 (0)476 57 37 82

​About Xavier Hufkens

Xavier Hufkens opened his gallery in 1987 in an un-refurbished warehouse in the neighbourhood of the South Station (Midi) in Brussels. British sculptor Antony Gormley, who is still affiliated with the gallery, Felix Gonzalez-Torres and Rosemarie Trockel all showed in Belgium for the first time with Xavier Hufkens (Gormley in 1987; Gonzalez-Torres in 1991 and Trockel in 1993).

Five years later, in 1992, the gallery moved to a 19th-century townhouse at 6 rue Saint-Georges, close to the Avenue Louises in Ixelles. The townhouse was expanded in 1997 by adding in the adjacent building and a number of new artists joined the gallery, including Louise Bourgeois, Roni Horn and Thomas Houseago.

A second space in the same street, at 107 rue Saint-Georges, opened in spring 2013. Located in the Galerie Rivoli, a mixed-use commercial development from the 1970s, the new gallery space was designed by Swiss architect Harry Gugger, who was previously in partnership with Herzog and De Meuron.

In 2020, Hufkens is opening his third space at 44 Rue Van Eyck. Designed by the Belgian architect Bernard Dubois, the addition of a new space is about to strengthen the gallery’s dynamic approach to exhibition-making and offer new opportunities to the artists of the gallery.

Today, the gallery is known as one of Europe’s leading galleries for contemporary art, representing some forty artists from different generations. Hufkens was part of the six-member selection committee for Art Basel during seven years and also participates in up to eight international art fairs annually. The gallery has partnerships with the estates of Louise Bourgeois, Willem de Kooning, Robert Mapplethorpe and Alice Neel.

Photo by Jean-François Jaussaud