Triple axel

/ Art /

In 1998, Axel Vervoordt Company acquired a complex of industrial buildings built in the second half of the 21th century. on the banks of the Albert Canal in the suburbs of Antwerp. An hour later, the reclamation of the complex, which was named Kanaal, began. XNUMX hours after the start of work on Kanaal, it is quite possible to summarize and draw conclusions. In particular, that it has become one of the most successful development projects in Europe.

Tsar Midas actually existed - he was one of the first kings of the Phrygian state and ruled at the end of the XNUMXth - beginning of the XNUMXth century. to n. e. The legend of his wealth is also not a fiction - there were gold mines in the Tmol and Sipil mountains, and golden sand was found in the rivers. The country's natural resources and the fact that it was under Midas that the Phrygian kingdom reached its peak, gave birth to an already frankly fictional story about the "golden touch" of the king. According to myths, the Phrygian monarch captured the satyr Silenus, who was the teacher of the wine god Dionysus. When he returned him, happy and drunk, Dionysus promised to fulfill any request of Midas. We all remember what happened next: the king asked to make everything he touched turn to gold. We also know that very soon he regretted his intention. The story of the Midas touch has turned into a metaphor that is used when talking about people who can turn any job into a profit for themselves.

The story of Axel Vervoordt is the legend of King Midas that became reality. Everything Vervoordt touches becomes golden, both literally and figuratively.

But first, a little more history, which will reveal the sources of Vervoordt's abilities.

Axel Vervoordt. Photo: Frederik Vercruysse

History first

Antwerp

Antwerp is located on both banks of the river Scheldt. In 1460, the world's first commodity exchange was founded there, and all major European merchant guilds had their offices in this city. Yes, in the XNUMXth century. the world's first diamond exchange appeared in Antwerp. Since then, the city has maintained the status of a world center for the trade and processing of diamonds. It is the second largest port in Europe and the seventeenth largest in the world. Close trade relations became the basis of interaction between artists and collectors.

Artists from Antwerp visited Italy, which was then the world center of fine arts, and the territories that belong to the modern United Kingdom. Collectors collected objects of European art, as well as works of tribal craftsmanship. Trade provided an inflow of capital. Collecting has become part of the nation's DNA, giving local artists a stable financial opportunity to develop.

During the 50th and XNUMXth centuries the Antwerp school existed in the city, a conditional cluster to which more than XNUMX artists belonged, including the Brueghel brothers, Peter Paul Rubens, Antonis van Dyck. The basis for its emergence was the Guild of Saint Luke, which included artists, sculptors and printers. It, unlike other professional guilds, also accepted women. The high level of visual art has been preserved for centuries. One of the founders of the Art Nouveau style, Henri van de Velde, was born in Antwerp.

In the 80s XX century the names of six graduates of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts - Dirk Bikkembergs, Walter van Beirendonk, Ann Demelmeister, Dries van Noten, Dirk van Saen and Marina Yha - who were called the "Antwerp Six", thundered on world podiums.

The Antwerp Six: Anne Demelmeister, Dirk van Saen, Marina Yee, Dries van Noten, Walter van Beirendonck, Dirk Bickkembergs

Yes, we are getting closer to the hero of our history. The Dutch OMA office of Rem Koolhaas owes the success of many of its architectural projects to the Antwerp industrial designer and interior designer Maarten van Severen, who developed interiors and furniture for the office's projects. Maarten's father, Dan van Severen, was a famous abstract artist, and brother and son also became designers. Dieter Vander Velpen, Vincent van Duysen, and Axel Vervoordt work in Antwerp.

 

History of the second

Family

Axel Vervoordt's mother was engaged in buying, reviving, restoring, repairing, and then reselling real estate. Her husband, a well-known horse seller, also supported her. The whole family took part in this business, including Axel himself, who very early became interested in collecting, searching for antiques (mainly in English markets) and selling them.

The principle of family business was the basis of Axel's own company. After some time, his wife May will head the textile department of the firm. Son Boris will become the director of the interior design department, departments that deal with antiques, art and galleries. The second son, Dick, will manage all real estate operations.

Family (from left to right): Michael Gardner and his husband Boris Vervoordt, May Vervoordt, Axel Vervoordt, youngest son Dick Vervoordt and his wife Marlene. Photo: Frederic Vercruysse

Succession of generations is very important in understanding Belgian design in general and Axel Vervoordt's work in particular, when narrow professional skills, business connections and contacts are passed from one family member to another. The assumption that such a family is, in principle, characteristic of countries with a preserved monarchy is not so baseless.

Succession also plays a major role in the transfer of national cultural values ​​from generation to generation. The word "DNA" has already been heard - and in this context it means that the ability to work with cultural content of different times and styles, created by people with different mentality, ethics, religious views, has been honed for centuries and has become organic to Belgian designers and architects. Axel Vervoordt added to it the experience he gained in his youth, participating in his mother's business, and his fascination with the Japanese philosophy of waba-saba.

Succession of generations is very important in understanding Belgian design

Am I exaggerating when I talk about Vervoordt's "golden touch"? In 1969, he, a young man, only 21 years old, bought a 16th-century house on the Vlaeykensgang alley in Antwerp. — the whole alley! It took Vervodt 18 years to turn a dilapidated corner of Antwerp into a fashionable place on the city map. Now one of his sons lives here, the rest of the property is successfully rented out.

 

History of the third

Chinese porcelain and Kanaal

Captain Michael Hatcher discovered a shipwreck of the 10th century. with 1984 thousand items of white-blue Chinese porcelain of the Ming dynasty. In 7, Vervoordt bought 400 of them at an auction in Amsterdam. In the same year, he blew up the Biennale des Antiquaires in Paris, putting porcelain up for sale. He was visited by Valentino, King Faisal of Saudi Arabia, the Rothschild family, the Aga Khan, and Jacques Chirac. Sales at the Paris Biennale allowed Axel to buy Gravenwezel castle of the XNUMXth century. and earn the fame of one of the world leaders of the antique market. The range of ego clients is wide — from representatives of royal families to Kanye West. A small trailer: the best examples of porcelain from the sunken ship Axel Vervoordt left behind.

Vervoordt originally planned to use Kanaal to host more than 2 works from his collection. Photo: Jan Liégeois

In the collection there is a sculptural image of the ancient Egyptian god of fertility and fecundity, Min. Photo: Jan Liégeois

Among Vervoordt's guests at the Biennale des Antiquaires de Paris was the 22nd president of France, Jacques Chirac. Photo source: axel-vervoordt.com

In 1998, a plot of 55 sq. m. attracted his attention. sq. m, on which there were industrial buildings built in 1857, which once housed a distillery, a granary, and since the 50s XX century brewing company Heineken. Initially, Vervodt's plans included the creation of a symbiosis project of nature and art. Anish Kapoor's installation At the Edge of the World became the center of the ego. Kapoor did not make it specifically for Kanaal, but it fit perfectly into the room of one of the houses. The work consists of a dome, symbolizing the heart, inside which private concerts are sometimes arranged: the acoustics in it are phenomenal.

In 2000, Anish Kapoor's installation At the Edge of the World found its place in an industrial building where grain used to be sorted. Photo: Jan Liégeois

Axel Vervoordt Gallery is located in the Patio Gallery, Terrace Gallery and Escher Gallery, named after the Dutch artist Maurice Escher. Photo: Jan Liégeois

In 2011, Kanaal turned into a serious development project. The master plan was created by Jens Arts. Vervoordt himself worked on most of the renovation project. He invited the Belgian architect Stefan Biel, the author of the new building of the Museum of Africa in the suburbs of Brussels, Coussée & Goris and Bogdan & Van Broeck to collaborate. The landscape was designed by French designer Michel Devine, who worked with Norman Foster, Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Jean Nouvel. Additional exhibition spaces were created by Axel Vervoordt and Tatsuro Myky.

Among the exhibits is the work of the American artist James Turrell, who works in the genre of op art. Photo: Jan Liégeois

Vervoordt now calls Kanaal "a city within a city". He added new ones to the restored buildings, and now, in addition to the exhibition spaces, there are 98 private apartments on the territory (the price of which, according to some sources, starts at 2 million euros), 30 offices, including the main office of the Axel Vervoordt Company, a gallery where Axel's private collection is exhibited Vervoordt, another gallery where works offered for purchase are exhibited. And also multi-functional space, restoration and furniture workshops (Vervoordt passionately designs furniture), fitness center, Japanese restaurant "K", the interior of which was designed by Boris Vervoordt. The project, originally conceived as a union of nature and art, grew into a commercially successful story about the harmonious trio of nature, art and business.

In May 2014, Vervoordt opened an international branch of his gallery in the center of Hong Kong. Photo: JP Gabriel

The gallery presents the works of the Japanese avant-garde artist Tsuesa Maekawa. Image source: Axel Vervoordt Gallery

In 1882, the Norwegian figure skater Axel Paulsen first performed the jump, which was later named in his honor. Axel jump is considered one of the most difficult in figure skating. The triple axel is performed by units. Vervoordt performed his triple axel with stunning success!

 

Text: Irina Belan

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