e design pavilion by Stefan Shöning and Guisepe Farris was recently inaugurated in De Loketten, the visitors and exhibition space of the Flemish Parliament. is gave the Flemish parliament a fully-fledged brasserie and a parliament store, as well as a reading and information corner for visitors. Since the inauguration of the parliament building, De Loketten was intended to serve as a meeting place. In this respect, an improved visitor’s infrastructure became imperative. Every year, the Flemish Parliament organises a major exhibition on a particular artist or discipline in De Loketten. In the past, as a consequence, we have seen exhibitions on Roger Raveel, Jan Fabre, Panamarenko, Design in Flanders, Contemporary Photo graphy and Antwerp Fashion. is has put the Flemish Parliament firmly on the map as an organiser of famous exhibitions in Flanders. It goes without saying that this is not one of the Flemish Parliament’s primary tasks, but it fits rather well with the philosophy of this House to be an open house, or better still, a glass house that aside from its primary tasks – of making decrees, controlling the Flemish government and approving the budget – also keeps an eye open on what is happening in the world outside. Today, Flemish art is praised worldwide and Flemish contemporary art in all its shapes and realisations enjoys a great deal of fame. We are therefore pleased and proud to welcome the Vermeersch family of artists to De Loketten in 2010, with an exhibition that cannot be described in one single sentence, since the different members of the Vermeersch family practise art in many forms, from painting and sculpture to design and poetry. ree generations of Vermeersch artists have been active and have proved themselves on the national and international art scenes. ey are living proof of the high regard in which Flemish artists are held abroad. It is more than appropriate, in this respect, that an exhibition that focuses on this family should take place in the Flemish Parliament. Organising exhibitions and other future events within this monumental space also complies with the task the Flemish Parliament has imposed upon itself : to bring people together around artistic and other events in order to let them become acquainted with the parliament and its work. To strive for a better working of the Flemish Parliament is the first and ongoing concern of this House and the bringing together of citizens can make an important contribution in this respect. An exhibition about the works of the Vermeersch family of artists also fits perfectly within the exhibition policy that has been elaborated by the Flemish Parliament in recent years in collaboration with the Commission for the Integration of Artworks, headed by Flor Bex, which pays great attention to what is happening in the Flemish contemporary art field. It was this vision that lay behind the wise decision to appoint Pieter Vermeersch, one of the younger members of the artistic family and a successful artist himself, to serve as the curator for this exhibition. is book is not so much a catalogue of the exhibition as a view into the world of the Vermeersches, who each express their artistic inspiration in their own way. I wish you much reading pleasure ! Jan Peumans Chairman of the Flemish Parliament
Preface
7