Private Architecture (joyfully wet)

Private Architecture (joyfully wet), a bronze sculpture by Valérie Mannaerts, stands on the forecourt of Bouckenborgh Castle in Merksem. The work was commissioned by the Antwerp public art collection as part of the project Voorbij het centrum (Beyond the Centre), which aims to anchor new artworks in Antwerp’s districts. 

The sculpture rises from the former water basin as a hybrid form balancing between natural and cultural references: a slender bamboo-like stem supports two pleated elements covered with leaves, whose inner surface recalls the grooved underside of mushrooms. The sculpture evokes an enlarged mushroom or parasol and is surrounded by plants carefully selected by the artist (together with garden architect Jeroen Provoost), allowing the work to merge seamlessly with the park’s natural environment. 

For this work, Mannaerts drew inspiration from the park’s lush, water-rich surroundings and from the historical “follies” once found in public gardens – imaginative, semi-architectural structures designed to surprise and inspire visitors.  

Mannaerts’ oeuvre investigates the autonomy of the artwork as a space of freedom and resistance, while questioning the interplay between organic and inorganic forms. In this work, she highlights the close connection between art, nature and community. 

Valérie Mannaerts (b. 1974) lives and works in Brussels. She studied at Sint-Lukas Brussels and took part in residencies in New York (ISCP, 2008) and Amsterdam (Rijksakademie, 2007). Her multidisciplinary body of work includes sculptures, installations and graphic works, with corporeality and material image culture at its core.