‹‹ Much like the castle, Kanaal is a good example
of Vervoordt rediscovering the forgotten. Originally
a gin distillery from the 19th century, the rambling
canal-side industrial complex has been resuscitated
— over the course of more than a decade — by
Vervoordt and May, who runs the interior design
department, as well as their sons, Boris and Dick,
who oversee art and architecture. Kanaal houses the
Axel Vervoordt Gallery and a part of the collection
of Axel & May Vervoordt Foundation; offices and
apartments; and restoration and research facilities
for his 100-plus staff (there’s even a French bakery
and a Japanese restaurant). The ‘dialogue’ betweenthe architecture and the Foundation’s art
collection makes for a thought-provoking
environment. Monumental installations
by James Turrell and Anish Kapoor are
interspersed with works by Lucio Fontana,
Jef Verheyen and Antoni Tàpies, not to
mention Vervoordt’s extensive collection
of German Zero movement artists as well
as those of the Gutai from Japan.
What really takes it to the next level,
however, is the pairing of these works
with antiquities from the various cradles
of civilisation, such as a tiny Cycladic
head, almost 5000 years old, or the
seated Lohan, a 13th-century Chinese wooden
figure of a monk in meditation that sits on his
own within a circular, almost cave-like space.
“I think that in every object we have, there is
a silence — a sense of peace and harmony that
involves you and embraces you,” he says.
Eastern philosophies have long informed Vervoordt
and he cites his personal concept of Wabi — from
the spirit of the values of Zen monks in Japan,
who sought contentment in simplicity, purity and
restraint — as his greatest inspiration. “It’s the
celebration of beauty in humble things.” But giving
the old and the forgotten that “better place” is never
far from his mind. “I see living with antiques as
very modern; they tell us as much about the present
and future as they do about the past,” he says.
“The 21st century must be a century of recuperation.
As we become more conscious of the natural
resources we use, we must find creative ways
to reuse what has been discarded.” VL
kanaal.be; axel-vervoordt.comFROM LEFT the living room of a private apartment
in one of the ‘cubes’ of Kanaal, with architecture
by Bogdan & Van Broeck and interior design by
Axel Vervoordt. The Wabi interior of a private
residence in the Belgian countryside.“I think that in every object we
have, there is a silence — a sense
of peace and HARMONY that
embraces you” AXEL VERVOORDT
82 vogueliving.com.auPHOTOGRAPHER: JAN LIÉGEOISVLife