Experience

ANTWERP | ‘Panamarenko. Infinite Imagination’ exhibition at KMSKA until 4 May 2025

Posted by Timothy on

Why do all the temporary exhibition in Antwerp open on the same day? Today, Friday 31 January 2025, the Museum At the Stream (Museum Aan de Stroom, MAS) opens ‘Compassion‘. The Red Star Line Museum opens ‘Happy Family 全家福‘. And the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (Koninklijk Museum voor Schone Kunsten, KMSKA) opens ‘Panamarenko. Infinite Imagination‘. That exhibition runs to 4 May 2025.

“There’s a kind of wonder hidden in that mechanism. If only you could pry it loose…” 

That single sentence seems to encapsulate the oeuvre of Panamarenko. His life’s work felt like a game without boundaries, where experimentation took precedence over the final result. Or did it? For Panamarenko’s 85th birthday, KMSKA gathers his most playful objects and works on paper.

‘Panamarenko. Infinite Imagination’ celebrates the playful and curious spirit of this unique Belgian artist. Panamarenko saw art as an adventure, a search for the unexpected and unknown. His inventions and creations challenge us to look at the world with different eyes. 

Albert Einstein once said that play is the highest form of investigation, a quote that perfectly fits Panamarenko’s thinking. The artist used the laws of science as rules of play, creating a parallel, alternative universe. Not completely detached from reality, but out of a curiosity. We show how he was always looking for magic, wonder and poetry.

For him, art was not a pastime, but a way to explore new worlds and reveal the magic of the everyday. Immerse yourself in Panamarenko’s inventive and playful world, his sketches and original objects, drawn from both private and public collections.

Panamarenko. Infinite Imagination falls under the project Panamarenko85. An initiative of the Panamarenko Foundation which brings together exhibitions at modern art museum M HKA, KMSKA, Port House — Port of Antwerp-Bruges and Cultural Centre Knokke-Heist.

Who was Panamarenko?

Panamarenko, the pseudonym of Henri Van Herwegen (Antwerp, 5 February 1940 – Brakel, 14 December 2019), was a Belgian sculptor. He is regarded as one of the most significant Belgian sculptors of the latter half of the 20th century, known for his assemblages related to flight.

The name Panamarenko is a contraction of “Pan American Airlines and Company“. It is also the surname of a former Russian general and Cold War politician-ambassador. Henri Van Herwegen first heard this name on the radio.

Henri Van Herwegen’s father was an electrical engineer from a communist-minded family, one of whom was a leader of the Belgian communists and was killed in the war by a V-1 flying bomb. His grandfather was an architect. 

Through these influences, he developed an early familiarity with technology and spatial constructions. From 1955 to 1960, he studied at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp (Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten van Antwerpen), where he held his first solo exhibition in 1963. 

In 1965, he began organising public happenings with Yoshio Nakajima, Hugo Heyrman, Wout Vercammen and Bernd Lohaus.

Initially leaning towards pop art, Panamarenko became fascinated by flight and human-powered aviation. From 1970 onwards, he created scale models of numerous imaginary flying machines, including aeroplanes, balloons, and helicopters, all reflecting the mythological dream of Icarus. Whether these creations were capable of flight remains an open question, adding to their intrigue.

Between 1969 and 1971, he constructed the zeppelin ‘The Aeromodeller‘, and in 1990, he designed the first ‘Archaeopterix‘, a conceptual intelligent chicken inspired by a prehistoric bird.

 In 1996, he presented the submarine ‘Pahama Novaya Zemblaya‘. 

His international breakthrough followed, with solo exhibitions in London, Basel (2000), and New York (2001). In 2003, his sculpture ‘Pepto Bismo‘ was unveiled in Antwerp’s Sint-Jansplein. 

Curator Jan Hoet dedicated particular attention to Panamarenko’s work at the Ghent municipal museum of art SMAK. In 2002, he opened a new studio, ‘Antwerpse Luchtschipbouw‘, in Borgerhout.

He also created a sculpture in Koksijde, ‘Brazil‘, at the local town hall. In 2005, at the opening of a major retrospective in Brussels, he announced his retirement from active artistic work.

On 18 October 2003, Panamarenko married Eveline Hoorens, who runs the Hoorens coffee roastery, and relocated to Sint-Maria-Oudenhove. The coffee roastery introduced a special blend, Panamajumbo, in his honour. In his later years, Panamarenko suffered from health issues and passed away on 14 December 2019 in Brakel.

In January 2007, Panamarenko donated his former home and studio, along with its contents, to the Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA). With support from the Ministry of Culture, the building underwent renovation led by architect and artist Luc Deleu. 

Paul Morrens’ Panamarenko Collective advocated for its preservation. The house, located on the corner of Biekorfstraat near Sint-Jansplein in Antwerp, had remained unoccupied since 2004 but retained its original furnishings, tools, and artworks. 

It was transformed into a museum house to reflect Panamarenko’s artistic world. M HKA leases the renovated space to the Panamarenko Collective, which oversees its management. In 2011, a helicopter platform was installed on the roof at Panamarenko’s request, though it was never intended for actual landings. The studio opened to the public in 2013 and is accessible by appointment via M HKA.

In early 2007, the City of Hasselt in Belgian Limburg acquired ‘Batopillo‘, a sculpture depicting a figure attempting to fly with small propellers on its back. The sculpture, mounted on a three-metre-high metal column, was installed at the intersection of Botermarkt and Zuivelmarkt as part of an initiative to introduce high-quality contemporary art into urban public spaces.

Panamarenko received several honours during his lifetime. In 1998, he was awarded the Biennial Cultural Prize. In 2010, he received an honorary doctorate from Hasselt University, followed by another from the University of Mons in 2014.

The Belgian band Noordkaap wrote a song titled ‘Panamarenko‘ in his honour, and he was also imitated by Chris Van den Durpel.

In November 2006, his work ‘Meikever‘ (1975) was stolen from SMAK in Ghent and later found damaged in a nearby park. It was restored and prominently displayed on Heritage Day in 2007. 

From April 2009, a VLM Airlines Fokker 50 (OO-VLF) flew under the name ‘Panamarenko‘, making him one of the few Belgians to have an aircraft named after him. A Boeing 787 operated by Jetairfly features one of his drawings on its fuselage.

Panamarenko was also a member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Sciences and Arts.

Art and museums in Antwerp