The collection

The art collection of the National Bank reflects all the main artistic trends from 1950 onwards, and spans all the classic art disciplines. New media artwork is only depicted by examples that are compatible with a working environment.

Marthe Wéry, Sans titre (2002), courtesy Marthe Wéry
Marthe Wéry, Sans titre (2002), courtesy Marthe Wéry
One of the objectives of this art collection is to build an image that is representative of the main trends in contemporary art.

Works of art ranging from geometric abstraction (Jo Delahaut, Dan Van Severen, Gaston Bertrand, ...) to the conceptual-type work of Guillaume Bijl, Jacques Charlier, Leo Copers and Jacques Lennep or the hyperrealism creations of Marcel Maeyer or Roger Wittevrongel can be found there.

The COBRA movement is well represented, with Pierre Alechinsky, Christian Dotremont, Maurice Wyckaert, Raoul Ubac and Pol Bury, to name but a few.
There is even room for the original strip cartoon boards or press cartoon stencils, alongside Gal, Mitteï, Philippe Geluck and many others.

Michel François, Bouleau (2002), Courtesy Michel François
Michel François, Bouleau (2002), Courtesy Michel François

The photography collection has expanded somewhat over the last few years, with artists like Dirk Braeckman, Marie-Françoise Plissart, Pol Pierart, Gilbert Fastenaekens, Felten-Massinger, Rony Heirman, Carlos Aires, Marie-Jo Lafontaine or Marin Kasimir.

Painting, which has been full of life since the 1980s, is well represented, too, by the paintings and drawings of Luc Tuymans, Bert De Beul, Michaël Borremans, Cindy Wright, Tom Liekens, Joris Ghekiere, etc.

Pieter Vermeersch, Sans titre (2010), Courtesy Pieter Vermeersch
Pieter Vermeersch, Sans titre (2010), Courtesy Pieter Vermeersch

Last but not least, the National Bank sometimes also commissions specific items from the artists. This is how Fred Eerdekens came to design a sculpture in the staff common room at the NBB headquarters in Brussels, and Pieter Vermeersch designed a tapestry for the scientific library.