It’s Sunday at sea!
What draws people to the sea again and again? What do they hope to find or feel there? The allure is timeless. Artists try to capture that feeling – their own longing, but that of others too.
Ostend expanded to become the ‘Queen of Seaside Resorts’ in the 19th century and is still the place where many Belgians go to encounter the sea today. Both the E40 and the longest IC train in the country lead to it. Mu.ZEE plays a special role in this city by the sea: the museum focuses on art in Belgium from 1880 until tomorrow.
The exhibition It’s Sunday at sea! is not just about the appearance of the sea but, above all, what it means to people. The sea is both relaxing and spectacular. It can bring peace but also be overwhelming. Artists sometimes show it as it is, in the open. At other times, they recall it from memory, in dreamscapes or symbols. The sea gives rise to reflection and imagination.
An important source of inspiration for the exhibition is the 1899 poem Vers la mer by Émile Verhaeren. This runs like a thread through the exhibition and connects the beginning of Mu.ZEE’s collection – around 1880 – with the present day. From artists such as Ensor and Spilliaert to contemporary names such as Lili Dujourie.
Dujourie’s work Il fait dimanche sur la mer! takes its name from a line in Verhaeren’s poem. It shows the sea as it is seen from an apartment with a ‘view of the sea’ – a dream for many. Seven screens show one day of the week each, captured on video. What can you see? As a visitor, you are free to make up your own mind. Everyone’s experience of the sea is different.
The title It’s Sunday at sea! sounds cheerful and inviting – Stefan Zweig even translates it as Sunday celebration. But perhaps it also evokes another feeling, such as the languor or stillness of a Sunday. Discover what the sea means to you in the exhibition itself.
About Mu.ZEE breezes out
In January 2025, Mu.ZEE closed the doors of its well-known main building in Romestraat, Ostend for three years as part of an extensive renovation. During this period, Mu.ZEE will remain active, not only in its own Permekemuseum in Jabbeke and Peiremuzee in Knokke-Heist, but also in the form of exhibitions in Amsterdam, Antwerp, Drogenbos and Koksijde.
In Ostend itself, during the closure Mu.ZEE has taken up residence in the stately Venetian Galleries, designed by Henri Maquet and built between 1900 and 1903. Here Mu.ZEE shows the very best of itself, that is to say: art in Belgium from 1880 until tomorrow that speaks to the imagination. On the Ostend promenade overlooking the sea, parts of the Mu.ZEE collection are on display in three areas. The gallery offers space for four consecutive thematic exhibitions, of which It’s Sunday at sea! is the first. In the large hall, next to the gallery, the focus is on one work, artist, archive or ensemble. Lastly, at the back, an active depot offers a glimpse behind the scenes of museum operations and a fascinating collection. In a permanent experimental installation, Mu.ZEE is also examining and showing the influence of light on various materials for three years, thus reflecting on presentations after the reopening of Mu.ZEE in 2028.
A brand new exhibition scenography for this temporary home was designed by Theo De Meyer, Laura Muyldermans and Yuichiro Onuma.
