Permanent Collection Presentation

From 25.01.2025

In 2017, M HKA reopened after an extensive renovation, showcasing a permanent collection presentation featuring reference artists, contemporary icons, historical pioneers, and key figures from the museum’s global collection. The collection is ever-evolving, reflecting the dynamic times we live in. In 2025, M HKA will present a renewed, focused collection showcasing approximately 30 key works by Flemish artists. Among them are figures who have lived and worked in the region—such as Marcel Broodthaers, Panamarenko, Luc Tuymans, Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven, Otobong Nkanga, and Laure Prouvost—alongside artists with ties to Flanders, including Marlene Dumas, Jimmie Durham, Gordon Matta-Clark, and Nicola L. They are presented in dialogue with international artists from the Collection of the Flemish Community, including Cady Noland, Barbara Kruger, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Taus Makhacheva, and Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin. The collection presentation takes the postwar avant-garde in Antwerp as its starting point, using the past as a platform to explore the multipolar realities of both today and the future, structured around the three key angles of the collection: image, action, and society.

The permanent collection presentation features work by Marina Abramović, Chantal Akerman, Hüseyin Bahri Alptekin, Marcel Broodthaers, David Claerbout, Lili Dujourie, Marlene Dumas, Jimmie Durham, Andrea Fraser, Anna-Bella Geiger, Craigie Horsfield, Ilya & Emilia Kabakov, Nikita Kadan, Barbara Kruger, Nicola L., Taus Makhacheva, Gordon Matta-Clark, Cady Noland, Otobong Nkanga, Panamarenko, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Laure Prouvost, Ayman Ramadam, Chris Reinecke, Oksana Shachko, Nancy Spero, Walter Swennen, Luc Tuymans and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven.

About the M HKA collection

The M HKA collection comprises approximately 8,000 works. Its core is formed by acquisitions made by the museum itself, and works purchased by the Flemish Community and the city of Antwerp. In addition to this there are also donations and additional public collections that the M HKA manages, such as the collection of De Vleeshal in Middelburg. The collection narrative begins with the postwar avant-garde in Antwerp and Flanders, and uses this past as a foundation to explore the multipolar realities of both today and the future. The M HKA collection evolves around three key perspectives on art: image, action, and society.

While no work fits exclusively within any of these categories, they provide valuable perspectives for exploring the uniqueness and interconnectedness of our collection. Image, action, and society serve as three axes that collectively define the space of a work: every performative artwork possesses an image quality, viewing is itself an action, and every artwork engages with society. As such, this division is primarily intended to encourage the audience to engage with the works and discover new connections. 

Click here to browse the digital scan of the exhibition.