18 march 2022, Oscar van Gelderen
The gallery of... Bert de Leenheer en Dirk Vanhecke
Were you exposed to art while growing up?
BDL: On the one hand, my parents bought some works of art by Flemish artists, paintings that stuck on my retina for a long time, on the other hand I had a very good contact with a younger brother of my mother who was a painter in Ghent. My mother was also very creative. And after the war my father had purchased a painting by George Hendrik Breitner, which has always hung over the fireplace in the living room. This painting now hangs in the guest room.
DV: I come from a large family with eleven children, so art was certainly not a daily interest, let alone a need. As far as art is concerned, there was only a beautifully framed reproduction of Pieter Breugel's 'The Census in Bethlehem', framed in a heavy 'chic' frame -:). It hung in what was then the 'front room' – mainly to receive visitors – but it was an image that enchanted me and has always stayed with me. In the entrance hall hung a linocut by Frans Masereel. To deviate from the visual arts for a moment: when I was fourteen years old I was able to experience a live concert conducted by Sir Colin Davis. This too remains an unforgettable moment, and perhaps that is why I am a loyal listener of radio Klara.
With two collectors in the gallery 2017, besides a painting by Luc Dondeyne.
How did you come into contact with the art world?
BDL: From age of fourteen, I have been fascinated by the work of Paul Klee, and I tried to transfer his iconography to other objects. I also made paintings in oil on wood panels, with the filled painting box that I had been gifted by the uncle painter. The Klee fascination brought me to Bern, and a few years later I was able – together with Dirk – to visit his son Felix in his apartment in Bern where the walls were covered from plinth to ceiling with work by his father. The first trip Dirk and I went on when we first met each other was Middelheim in Antwerp, and since then all holidays have focused on art cities and art. I got to know the professional art world inside out when in the mid-eighties I started assisting a French gallerist – Guimiot in Brussels – on weekends and was even allowed to keep the gallery open. During that period I also became a freelance journalist for the newspaper Het Belang van Limburg.
DV: When I met my current husband Bert in 1971, after our trip to Middelheim Park – which was a revelation – many visits to museums and art centres followed. On our first trip abroad we went to Amsterdam to visit an exhibition by Roy Lichtenstein in the Stedelijk Museum. An artist I still admire today, last year during the 'Visions multiples' exhibition at BAM, Musée des Beaux-Arts Mons.
Dirk and Nikita Kadan are inspecting the work of Nikita in the gallery (2017).
What was your first job in a gallery? Or did you immediately start a gallery yourself?
BDL: After my experience in Brussels, the next step was to start a gallery myself. This was possible in 1988. We lived in Leuven in a large mansion with four floors, which we shared with a couple and their daughter. They moved out and the space for the gallery became available.
DV: We hardly had any connections with the gallery world in the beginning; there wasn’t a single contemporary art gallery in Leuven at that time. My first gallery experience was at the Guimiot gallery in Brussels, where Bert was an assistant during the weekend. This is how we got to know the artist Jörg Madlener (°1939) who represented Belgium at the Venice Biennale in 1982. We became good friends, regularly travelled together and are still in touch with him, although he currently lives and works in New York. We did have many contacts with museums, including the late Jan Hoet Sr. of the S.M.A.K., who would later open our first exhibition with work by the Dutch artist Allart Lakke.
Wouter Feyaerts with visitors during a guest concert in the gallery in 2018.
How would you describe your gallery’s profile?
BDL: We opt for art that can surprise, that is not obvious. We love the fact that every exhibition can look completely different. We don't like routine. In 1993, we saw an insert by David Byrne in art magazine Parkett. A month later the Talking Heads founder would perform in Brussels, which, of course, we went to. After the concert we tried to speak to him, but we couldn't; all we could do was to leave the gallery's business card. Not long after, he contacted us to meet in New York. We then planned his first solo gallery exhibition, six months later.
One of the first exhibitions after the move to Mechelen was a solo with Andreas Fogarasi, a totally unknown artist at the time, but eight years later the Hungarian pavilion won the Golden Lion for the best pavilion, at the 2007 Venice Biennale.
We show a mix of national and international artists, with specific attention for the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ukraine and Australia. Visitors to our gallery will also have the opportunity to visit our permanent showroom, which is also our living room, in addition to the gallery exhibition. We are happy to offer visitors a drink.
DV: Naturally, we follow a quirky path in which we are open to all forms of visual art. We bring conceptual art, paintings, photography, sculptures and even performances, by both national and international artists. We keep our ears to the ground to discover fascinating young artists and offer them opportunities. Our most recent exhibition was with work by Fran Van Coppenolle (°1998).
Bram Van Meervelde in conversation with two curators during his solo exhibition in the gallery in 2019.
What do you think is the best part of being a gallerist?
BDL: The human contact and the exchange of experiences, the dialogues keep us going. And travelling to participate in an art fair abroad and being present at the opening of one of our artists’ shows in a foreign museum exhibition.
DV: Our gallery, which we started in 1989, is located in our own home - first in Leuven, later in Mechelen. So the most beautiful aspect is that we are surrounded by art from early in the morning until late at night and can enjoy it continuously. Art is therefore part of our lives and brings peace, wonder and a challenge. But also the intense friendship with international artists from Sydney to Kiev. The many art trips are always enriching. Also, we always find the contact and discussions with collectors and visitors a fascinating experience.
Nikita Kadan and Arne Bastien exchanging catalogues (2020).
Which national / international galleries do you feel an affinity with?
BDL & DV: We have a lot of respect for the big names in the gallery world, but we remain a modest gallery ourselves.
Nationally: Annie Gentils, Geukens & De Vil, The White House Gallery and Kristof De Clercq.
Abroad: Akinci (Amsterdam), Galerie Poggi (Paris) and Eigen+Art (Berlin). And many other colleagues with whom we maintain good contact.
In an ideal world, which artist would you most like to represent?
BDL: Sigmar Polke, David Hockney.
DV: Paul Klee, but that would be in an ideal world after this one :-)
Bert and Dirk with 'De vleermuis' ('The bat') by Johan Creten (2020).
What has changed in the art world since you took your first steps?
BDL: Many collectors no longer bother to visit a gallery, they limit themselves to art fairs and large exhibitions. The importance of social media and its presence on digital platforms is indispensable.
DV: When we started in 1989, conceptual art was almost the dominant form, but this has largely faded away, although we remain very fascinated by work by, for example, Christophe Terlinden or Alexis Gautier. The importance of social media should certainly not be underestimated, although a physical experience with art remains very important to me. Also, society as a whole has become more individualistic, we feel the same is true of the art world. On the other hand, we note that the younger generation of artists are taking more joint initiatives.
Fran Van Coppenolle and Simon Masschelein installing works in the gallery (2022).
What / whose work do you collect yourself?
BDL: We bought work from all artists we represent and also from many young artists. We own important works by Sergey Bratkov, Johan Creten, Nikita Kadan, Allart Lakke, Thomas Huber, Jörg Madlener and Christa Näher. I also collect religious icons and landscape paintings from the 1930s.
DV: As a token of our commitment, we have always added work by the artists that we exhibit to our collection. But we also have work by various (young) artists with whom we do not collaborate in a gallery context. We usually buy these works from fellow galleries. Naming names is impossible. A look at our 'file': the first work turns out to be by René Daniels, and the most recent is a work by Simon Masschelein.
Bert next to a work by Fran Van Coppenolle (2022).
Has the pandemic changed the way you see the artworld?
BDL: It took some time to catch our breath from the rat race prior to the pandemic, but now that Corona is no longer the main problem, I notice that the old patterns are reappearing. What the war will bring about is a total question mark, but hopefully art will be spared and play an important role. The fact that a number of artists and galleries now donate 100% of the proceeds of their artworks to a good cause for Ukraine is encouraging.
DV: As a gallery, we had to comply with rules of non-existential businesses during Corona: ranging from complete closure, to limited visits and from working with time slots to no openings with drinks or snacks - and yes, that was very intense. Let's just hope that the war in Ukraine does not put a new damper on the artistic joy that had returned. After all, we ourselves are closely involved in the whole event, our artist Nikita Kadan was going to go to Krems in Austria for a residency just after the war broke out, but he can no longer leave the country and is hopefully safe in a bunker in Kyiv. We are monitoring the situation closely and are in daily contact with Nikita through Facetime.
