Middelheim Open Air Sculpture Museum

Reflective of this, Braem aimed to design the pavilion to incorporate a sculptural quality to organically merge it with the park’s landscape.

(“Middelheim Museum”) The Braem Pavilion is exclusive to fragile works from the permanent collection, such as ones by Alberto Giacometti, Jean Arp, and Wim Delvoye, to maintain them suitably.

In addition, the Open Air Museum has hundreds of sculptures which are displayed through temporary exhibitions in the Braem Pavilion.

On the side of the Hortiflora the architect Paul Robbrecht designed a new half open exhibition building called The House.

Not oversized, like most contemporary museums but on a human scale: A pavilion that makes possible a temporary one-to-one relationship with art.

The artist is known for using materials sparingly and thus, he recycled a small bridge that was present at the sculpture park and added his touch to it.

His installations propel the viewer to challenge the status quo and the powers that be, aiming for a change in mindset and to evoke people’s individual sense of responsibility.

The power of art lies in its awareness of the cultured and psychological subversion.” (“Ai Weiwei”) Another prominent work by Lawrence Weiner in 1995 lines the building that sits along the entrance of the park.

This translates to “iron & gold in the air dust & smoke on the ground” in English, as written in the same bold red letters below the Dutch statement.

Weiner also tends to adapt his work to the place it will be exhibited as it makes viewers more receptive to the words and the ideas they convey.

Although the text on the wall is not painted by Weiner in this piece, but rather according to his instructions, it still carries layers of meaning; it refers to the First World War, with the iron in the air symbolizing the airplanes and the dust on the ground suggesting the impact of grenades.

Carl Andre’s 74 Weathering Way from 2001 consists of seventy-four identical steel plates placed adjacent to each other on the ground.

However, its position invites constant wear and tear due to moisture and its interaction with the viewer, and hence, differences amongst these identical plates become visible over time, adding a dynamic quality to the work.

This work is reflective of Andre’s style; he tends to create sculptures from wooden blocks, stones and metal plates.

The location allowed for the engagement of an explicit interchange between the works and the weather conditions, the light and the continuously evolving natural environment.

All the works start from the bubble matrix, a random yet consistent geometry, which occurs in nature and also forms the structural syntax of Firmament III.” (“Antony Gormley”)

They are all deities.” (Ana Mendieta, 1948-1985) Her work involves a direct bodily relationship with nature, embodying both a manner of individual self-representation and a connection to universal ancestral power.

By cognizing the idea of nature and its elements being active and having agency, Mendieta challenges the boundaries of history, religion and identity.

(“Ana Mendieta”) The collection includes works by many leading sculptors of modern and contemporary visual art, among others: “Ai Weiwei (China).” Middelheim Museum, 23 Feb. 2016.