Room of Wonder II curated by Katrin Wouters and Karen Hendrix

Artist list

Philip Aguirre, David Bielander, Louise Bourgeois, Marcel Broodthaers, Monika Brugger, Pol Bury, Salvador Dali, Leo Dohmen, Marcel Duchamp, Lucio Fontana, Michel François, Karen Hendrix, René Heyvaert, Evan Holloway, Ann Veronica Janssens, Aarich Jespers, Oscar Jespers, Paul Joostens, Martin Margiela, Marcel Mariën, Fausto Melotti, Meret Oppenheim, Grayson Perry, Man Ray, Oxana Shachko, Xavier Somers, Jesus Rafaël Soto, Walter Swennen, Van Cleef & Arpels, Katrin Wouters, Marina Yee, Niki de Saint Phalle, Daniël von Weinberger

For some unknown reason, a small detail or object can make appear, as by magic, fragrant memories of love, sounds and sights. Those are wonderful moments and these objects are treasures. We cannot imagine a more perfect way to celebrate our 35th birthday than with an exhibition that takes visitors to the very heart of the Wouters & Hendrix treasure house.
/ Katrin Wouters and Karen Hendrix

The leitmotif of the exhibition is Wouters & Hendrix’s fascination with remarkable stories and the precious metals silver and gold. The novel assemblages, so typical of their work, provide an explosion of forms and colours. An important aspect of the exhibition is Antwerp’s famed craftsmanship which is reflected in the collections.

Set designer Bob Verhelst reflects the design duo’s inimitable, surrealist style in an imaginative exhibition set. He has designed several of MoMu’s (Antwerp fashion museum’s) exhibitions, including Delvaux. 180 years of Belgian luxury and Margiela. The Hermès years.

Chairman of the Museumstichting Luk Lemmens: With Katrin Wouters and Karen Hendrix we are hosting a remarkable duo who are exemplary in the way they balance expert silversmithing with creativity that captures the imagination while remaining accessible. It is the story of two great talents who found a seed-bed in Antwerp and flourished here. Who better than to create a DIVA Room of Wonder! We are proud of this wonderful collaboration with Wouters & Hendrix.


A series of Rooms of Wonder
With the focus on silverware, jewellery and diamonds, DIVA wants to contribute to the wonderment, curiosity and exchange of knowledge triggered by material culture. So as part of a special programme, she has invited trailblazing guest curators to create their very own version of a Room of Wonder. These guest curators might be collectors, patrons, artists, fashion, jewellery or interior designers, silversmiths, architects or photographers. They are free to draw on the museum’s collection and supplement it with other (art) objects in a bid to shed light on the wonderment concept from different angles and link it to gemstones and precious metals. Axel Vervoordt was the first guest curator to put together a Room of Wonder at DIVA. 


With loans from:
Design Museum Den Bosch, Jewish Historical Museum Amsterdam, Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp, Royal Museums of Art and History Brussel, MAS Antwerp, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, Flemish Community.