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© Pat Verbruggen

Stuff

3.04.2020 - 6.06.2022

The Belgian philosopher Jaap Kruithof (1929-2009) collected 10,000 items, things that other people usually discard. He was a serious critic of our culture of disposability. Half of the Kruithof collection was given a new life thanks to the visual work of artists Guy Rombouts and Benjamin Verdonck. In the MAS, they created a new installation with the objects.

After the death of Jaap Kruithof, the MAS acquired the entire collection, with the intention of investigating the value of the objects. This took place in 2018, in collaboration with many partners.

The MAS decided to give half of the Kruithof collection back to society, as raw materials for the future. People or organisations that were interested were given a number of objects on the condition that everything was to be reused and thus given a new life. The upcycling led to interesting results.

The MAS kept the other half in the museum collection to be used for a special purpose. These 5,000 objects evoke thoughts and feelings regarding the value of things. That is why the MAS entrusted these objects to various artists. Benjamin Verdonck and Guy Rombouts were the first artists to create new work with the objects. They felt a “great tenderness” towards the Kruithof collection.

Practical information

  • Stuff. Guy Rombouts and Benjamin Verdonck rearrange Jaap Kruithof
  • 3.04.2020 - 6.06.2022

Publication

To accompany the exhibition, the essay “Bewaren (“Keep”) by Jaap Kruithof was reprinted with a foreword by Leen Beyers and afterwords by the French antropologist Octave Debary and the artists Benjamin Verdonck and Guy Rombouts.

  • Publishing house BAI for the MAS museum, 9 euros.
  • Available in the MASshop or you can order it online

Read more

Read a short biography of Guy Rombouts, Benjamin Verdonck and Jaap Kruithof.

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