Highlighting the strong bond between a collector and an art dealer,
Shared Passion explores a remarkable collection of African art
assembled in the twenty-first century
This book documents and celebrates the patience and perseverance of, and
the friendship between, the Belgian collector Michel Vandenkerckhove and
the Belgian art dealer and gallerist Didier Claes, and the exceptional
African art collection that is the result of their collaboration.
Alongside stunning black and white images of masks, figures, and
utilitarian objects from numerous sites across the African continent and
from a variety of time periods, essays by art historian Bruno Claessens
expound on the most interesting aspects of this collection. Four
separate topics are examined in depth: the abstract guardian figures of
the Kota, the power statues of the Kongo, the enigmatic art of the Lega,
and the much-loved ikhoko pendants of the Pende. An innovative graphic
design, featuring photography by Hughes Dubois, shines a light on this
extraordinary collection, available to the public for the first time
through this publication.
Distributed for Mercatorfonds
