Around Art Deco: Sculpture from interwar period harmonises with van Buuren Museum and Gardens

Amid the exuberance and opulence of the Art Deco age, a darker strand of life in the interwar period reflected a climate of fear and rising political and social tension.

It is precisely this juxtaposition that infuses the retrospective Around Art Deco. Interbellum Sculptures at the van Buuren Museum and Gardens in Brussels. The exhibition marks both the 50th anniversary of the Art Deco site in Uccle and the centenary of the influential style movement being celebrated across Brussels in 2025.

The collection of some 36 works on display encapsulate this volatile period. As artists explored new forms of expression following the horrors of the first world war, another historical catastrophe was impending. Co-curator Eric Hennaut asks visitors to view each of the sculptures through the prism of this extraordinary period between the two world wars.

Another important thread running throughout the exhibition is the dialogue with the resplendent Art Deco villa and gardens. It is a setting that perfectly evokes the era, from the exceptional preserved interior of the 1928 red-brick villa to the beautifully landscaped gardens surrounding it.

“It was important that the works radiated this idea of modernity and rhymed with the soul of the house,” adds Hennaut. The selection equally echoes the figurative painting that characterises the art collection of David and Alice van Buuren, the influential couple who created this artistic paradise.

It was the Exposition internationale des arts décoratifs in Paris in 2025 that officially formulated the design aesthetic of Art Deco; its elegant lines and geometric shapes reflecting the elegance and sophistication of the era. During this febrile period, artists also experimented with new trends such as Cubism and Futurism while revisiting classicism and realism.

Although the focus is on Belgian artists such as Philippe Wolfers, Constant Permeke and Rik Wouters, towering international figures include Ossip Zadkine and the Martel brothers, French sculptors who feature in the van Buuren collection.

Significantly, they are joined by three women artists: Yvonne Serruys, Jeanne Tercafs and Rachel Van Dantzig; their inclusion is pertinent as the show focuses on representations of the female form.

The smaller sculptures occupy the intimate interior spaces of the villa, designed by architects Léon Govaerts and Alexis Van Vaerenbergh. They are a harmonious addition to the warm and richly-decorated rooms that boast rare period furniture, restored wool carpets, stained glass windows, lustrous wooden panels and a masterpiece art collection dating from the 15th century.

Many of the works occupy window sills to benefit from the luscious views of the scenic garden through wooden paned windows. In an upper room, a digital screen diffuses images and information about the individual artists. One of the most amusing segments details the colourful and inspiring lives of the van Buuren couple with a creative spin. It was thanks to the foundation set up by the childless couple and established in 1975, that the property has remained virtually intact.

Some 11 large-scale works are dotted around the 1.2 hectare sloping garden that was designed in two phases by two eminent Belgian landscape architects, Jules Buyssens and René Pechère. Six distinct areas incorporate the aesthetics of the Nouveau Jardin Pittoresque and Art Deco movements. In 2023, the garden was inaugurated into the European Route of Historic Gardens (ERHG) in 2023, the first Belgian site to join the international network.

There are some familiar sculptural works. At the entrance to the villa is Arthur Craco’s Puits aux lévriers (1935), an expressive bronze formed out of two hunting dogs that originally stood in Ixelles’ Place Fernand Cocq.

On the lawn below the house, Philippe Wolfers’ La Nymphe surprise (1927) is an elegant addition (pictured above). The artist originally sculpted the bronze figure for his own garden at the end of his career.

In the orchard, a series of striking sculptures reflect the range of artistic influences from the interwar period. La Douleur (1931) by the progressive and feminist artist Yvonne Serruys retains some of its mystery. Now belonging in the Flemish town of Menin where she was born, it probably formed part of an erotic grouping, reveals Hennaut.

Another final symbolical work is The Destroyed City (1953), a sculpture (pictured above) that Russian-French artist Ossip Zadkine created after the German bombing of Rotterdam. Although it was mired in controversy as many people in the city found it too ‘modernist’, the sculpture forcefully expresses the tragedy that befell the port city. 

While illustrating a specific and fertile period of art from principally a Belgian point of view, this exhibition is brilliantly and subtly enhanced by its delightful and unique setting. The ensemble conjures a time capsule of an era that continues to inspire and enchant.

For the van Buuren Foundation’s 50th anniversary programme in 2025, activities include an Art Deco at Home festival, recitals, artistic projects and an exhibition in collaboration with the Fashion and Lace Museum. An extensive restoration plan of the museum is also being launched.

Around Art Deco. Interbellum Sculptures
Until 28 September
Avenue Leo Errera 41
Uccle

Photos: (main image) Henri Puvrez, La Naïade ©BE CULTURE; Villa ©Jean-Paul Remy; Aristide Maillol, Ile-de-France sans bras ©BE CULTURE; Jozef Cantré, De jonge dichter De pantfluitspeler ©BE CULTURE; Salon ©The Bulletin; Pergola ©Michael Binkin; Philippe Wolfers, La nymphe surprise ©BE CULTURE; Ossip Zadkine, Torse de la ville détruite ©BE CULTURE