Hans Op de Beeck Installs Monochrome Sculptural Garden Inside Delvaux's Working Brussels Atelier

Key facts

• Delvaux opened the Arsenal, its historic Brussels atelier in Etterbeek, to Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck for a full sculptural installation.
• The installation features a long black pond with white lilies, bamboo, fiberglass Chesterfield sofas, classical plinths displaying Delvaux bags, and a rotating mechanical planetarium inscribed with words including infinity, emptiness and letting go.
• Artisans continue working in the atelier during the installation, with the sound of their tools running beneath Op de Beeck's ambient soundtrack.
• Two figures, Brian and Zhai-Liza, sit at either end of the water, representing tranquility and melancholy.
• The installation is entirely monochrome grey, a register Op de Beeck has worked in for years.
• Delvaux was founded in Brussels in 1829 by Charles Delvaux, a year before Belgian independence, and has been an official purveyor to the Belgian Royal Court since 1883.
• The house filed a handbag patent in 1908 for the Princesse; the Brillant arrived in 1958, the Tempête in 1967, the Pin in 1972 and the Cool Box in 2018.
• Delvaux has belonged to Richemont since 2021, and Jean-Marc Loubier returned as chief executive that year.
• No capsule bag has been announced and nothing in the Arsenal is for sale.
• Op de Beeck's "Vanishing Point" opened at Almine Rech Brussels on 10 September and runs through 7 November, his first exhibition with the gallery and first solo presentation in the city in more than fifteen years.
• Born in Turnhout in 1969, Op de Beeck lives and works between Ghent and Brussels.
• His "Danse Macabre" runs at Tenuta Dello Scompiglio near Lucca through 25 October 2026, with solo exhibitions at Ron Mandos in Amsterdam in early 2027 and Galeria Continua in San Gimignano in the spring.