Art Brussels

Born on July 8, 1969, in Torhout, Belgium, Joost Vanhaerents was introduced to art at an early age. His passion for contemporary art began in 1978, when, as a 9-year-old, he was “spoon-fed” art — an experience that would shape his lifelong engagement with the field.

After marrying in 1993 and raising three children (born in 1999, 2000, and 2002), Joost led the family business in construction and real estate for 20 years. With a background as an Industrial Engineer in Construction Engineering, he managed the company until 2012.

Today, Joost is one of the three collectors behind the Vanhaerents Art Collection, alongside his sister Els and their father Walter. The collection is housed in a 3,500 m² private space in Brussels’ Dansaert district and focuses on contemporary art from 1965 to the present. Open to the public since 2007, the collection is now presented in the form of a “viewing depot” — a hybrid between storage (depot) and exhibition (viewing), inspired by the German concept of a Schaulager. The current exhibition, Year of the Snake, takes its title from a work by Ai Weiwei.

Since 2007, the Vanhaerents Art Collection has presented four major exhibitions abroad:

– Heartbreak Hotel (2015), in the framework of the Venice Biennale
– The Death of James Lee Byars & Zad Moultaka in Dialogue (2019), a collateral event of the Venice Biennale, with 130,000 visitors
– Au bout de mes rêves (2023), at Tripostal in Lille, attracting 112,000 visitors over 3.5 months
– Boundaries by Memo Deeds (2024), again as part of the Venice Biennale, welcomed 90,000 visitor

The Vanhaerents Art Collection is open to the public by request and by reservation on select Saturdays. For more information, visit www.vanhaerentsartcollection.com. Or listen to his latest interview with Die Leichtigkeit der Kunst here.

Discover his Coups de Cœur artworks below!