The exhibition 'Fictional Ruins' brings together a selection of projects by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh shaped by absence and memory. The projects are presented as white models within a black box space, emphasizing their ephemeral quality, and are complemented by film images of the realized works.
📍 Bac Art Lab, (Vital Decosterstraat 102, Leuven)
📅 07.05 — 13.06.2026
🕐 Thu–Sat, 13:00–18:00
🎟 Free entrance
Photo by Matthijs van der Burght
Work is progressing on the OUTCROP construction site. The project will be completed and open to the public in spring 2026
On Thursday evening, 21 May 2026 at 7:00 pm, we will give a lecture at BAC ART LAB as part of the Let’s Talk Leuven series.
The lecture will delve into the theme of the ruin, which functions as a guiding thread in a series of recent projects by Gijs Van Vaerenbergh. The ruin is not approached as a mere remnant of decay, but as an active and speculative condition that raises questions of absence, transformation, and memory.
The lecture is accompanied by an exhibition at BAC ART LAB and the presentation of a new publication.
We are happy to announce the opening of our new work Wandering Garden, 17 May in Leuven (B)
Wandering Garden is part of ‘And So, Change Comes in Waves’, the new art and science route at KU Leuven.
16 Artists and poets, together with KU Leuven researchers, collaborated in a new art and science route that not only shows how art and science enrich each other and reflects on current themes such as climate change, resilience, access to education or ethical issues in healthcare.
The route brings a mix of established names and emerging talent from home and abroad. Participating artists include Sammy Baloji, Berlinde De Bruyckere, Elif Erkan, Yu Ji, Alicja Kwade, Ugo Rondinone, Clara Spilliaert and Gijs Van Vaerenbergh.
Opening 17 May, 2025
More info here.
We are proud to share new drone photos of our Island Garden project 🌱
The project originated from the Meise Botanic Garden’s mission to bring attention to the importance of diverse water biotopes. These unique ecosystems are under threat worldwide due to shifting climate patterns. The new water garden serves as both a research tool and a showcase for these biotopes, helping to raise awareness of their importance.
The water garden itself has faced similar challenges. The first summers were extremely dry, while the last one was marked by heavy rainfall. Thanks to the Botanic Garden’s dedicated care and unwavering patience, the garden is now starting to thrive.
Affectionately referred to by the gardeners team as the “crèche,” the young plants and trees still require careful nurturing before they can become a fully self-sustaining and an integral part of the Garden
Last week we presented our new project Clausura to the press and public.
Commissioned by Herita, (National Trust for Flanders) this new public artwork for the Historic Abbey of Herkenrode in Belgium will bring back the vanished building complex in the heart of the abbey to its true scale and original location. A structure of thin steel rods is used to outline the vanished buildings of the cloister, as if they were drawn into the space.
The study of the project, in relation to the existing remains, is currently ongoing. The construction of the work is expected to start in 2025.
As from today, visitors can already experience a true scale test fragment on site, together with an exhibition about the context of the project, including a 1/50 model.
Update on the building of our in-situ work Wandering Garden for the KULeuven 600th anniversary year. After months of rain, we were recently able to finish the foundations and we started to install the walls on location. After the summer break, works will continue on the ground, landscape and greenery in and around the project. After completion in autumn, the project will be at ‘rest’ until its opening in spring 2025.
This week, we installed the sculpture ‘FOLLY’ in Park Huis Doorn (near Utrecht, Netherlands). It is permanently on display in the freely accessible historic parc.
The production of ‘Folly’ has started in the workshop. This contemporary installation will soon be installed in the centuries-old castle parc of Huis Doorn in the Netherlands. ‘Folly’ will be a life-size reconstruction of a disappeared folly on its original location. Seen from the castle it will evoke the original construction. When approaching, the installation reveals its depth and is seen from different angles, deconstructing the recognizable, original silhouette.
Recently, the mock up we made for Wandering Garden, was installed on the courtyard of the Arenberg castle as a sneak preview. In the meantime the works on the construction site have started with the demolition of the former parking.
This week we visited the 1/1 mockup of the steel structure for our upcoming project Wandering Garden. The production is starting up, works on site start from January 2024.
Today, our new project Forest Track was announced to the press. We are developing a design for two walking paths through the green parts separating different building clusters on the UHasselt Campus in Diepenbeek.
The building permit for Canal Belvédères, our project for the transformation of two watersides in the Canal in Brussels is approved.
The IJssel Biënnal, a public art route along the river Ijssel in the North of the Netherlands, has opened. We contributed with ‘Shelter’, a temporary roof structure, gently build between the trunks of two Willow trees.
On Sunday April 1st, the theater piece Blood Wedding premiered at Internaal Theatre Amsterdam. The play, written by Lorca, was directed by Wim Vandekeybus and produced by ITA ensemble. We participated with a design for the scenography. a space-filling felt drape both defines the field of play as it is a space on itself.
On Friday evening February 17th, the exhibition Escher - Other World was officially opened at Kunstmuseum Den Haag (NL)
