TO SEE
THE COLLECTION
Rather than developing in a linear fashion, the Mu.ZEE collection has grown historically from different collections since 2008. It includes the collections of the city of Ostend (formerly MSK Oostende) and the province of West Flanders (formerly PMMK), today the Flemish Community. The Mu.ZEE collection contains more than 8000 works and spans different periods and styles, with Belgium as the common thread. It contains works with international allure, from Ostend confidants such as Ensor, Spilliaert and Permeke to pacesetters such as Frits Van den Berghe, Roger Raveel, Raoul De Keyser, Raoul Servais and less well-known but strong artists such as Marthe Wéry, Jacques Verduyn and Walter Swennen. Sometimes Mu.ZEE has followed one artist intensively, but other artists only have one work exhibited. This gives the collection a complex but interesting character. All the artists in the collection have been chosen because of their contribution to the history and development of Belgian art, not just because of their nationality. They were either born or ended up in Belgium (and sometimes left again). Belgium has always been a sanctuary for artists who observed each other and the world critically, on a highly visual level. “My talent is to be Belgian,” Marcel Broodthaers once said.
To be discovered on 1 and 2 and in gallery 1a and in gallery 2b.
This autumn, we have some exciting changes lined up at our museum. From 3 October to 15 December 2023, some floors will be temporarily closed due to the change of our collection and the build-up for the James Ensor exhibition.
Here is an overview of the planned closures:
1st Floor: The entire back wing dedicated to "Contemporary Art" (end of Ada Van Hoorebeke) will be closed from 3 October to 15 December.
Full 1st Floor: from 14 November to 15 December, for the completion of our contemporary art collection and the construction of the James Ensor exhibition. The mezzanines containing our collection will also be closed during this period.