M HKA is an important ensemble richer with the addition of works by Jan Cox, co-founder of the Jeune Peinture Belge group, akin to Cobra, and a pivotal international figure at the inception of Antwerp's De Zwarte Panter gallery. Adriaan Raemdonck of De Zwarte Panter has donated a portion of Jan Cox's core collection to the M HKA. He made this gift as his statement on the importance of supporting public institutions.

“You can approach Jan Cox from many different angles," says Bart De Baere, M HKA's director. "Art-historically speaking, he is an established figure by virtue of his co-founding of the Jeune Peinture Belge group. But you can also see him as an artist who advanced the canon of painting, as demonstrated in Antwerp's Royal Museum five years ago. The M HKA opts for a third approach: Cox as an artist who remains contemporary. We feel that his artistic merit deserves still more attention." 

In order to make the best choice from Adriaan Raemdonck's generous offer, we invited two artists to join with the museum in making the final decision: painter Koen van den Broek and performance artist Vaast Colson The idea was not to acquire the greatest number of works for the M HKA, but rather to together determine what would be the best angle of approach. Here was the question: which ensemble of Jan Cox's works should best be preserved in the public domain?

The ultimate selection mainly included works from Cox's later oeuvre, ones we may describe as 'source works' or 'pilot works'. These are pieces wherein the artists embarks upon an adventure, acute works that still remain fresh to this day. There are paintings here, of course, but also a large number of sculptures that Jan Cox produced towards the end of his life. Moreover, there are exceptional drawings and a wealth of archive material, including letters he wrote to Hugo Claus when dean of painting at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

From 03.06.2014 on M HKA will present the selection of works chosen by Philippe Pirotte. Philippe Pirotte selected from an art historical perspective and with great interest in the documentary and the recurring image ideas. There are also some texts by Jan Cox integrated. Click here to view a few texts.

In order to view the selection of Koen van den Broek just click here. For the selection of Colson click here!