BMW Art Guide by Independent Collectors

Servais Family Collection

The collection aims to gather ideas rather than objects, continuously seeking to explore a broader reality, akin to the philosophical quest to escape Plato's cave.

Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Bodys Isek Kingelez, Cian Dayrit, Adel Abdessemed © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Bodys Isek Kingelez, Cian Dayrit, Adel Abdessemed © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

The Servais Family Collection is a private contemporary art collection based in Brussels. Exhibitions are held annually at the Loft, a dedicated exhibition space that was formerly the home of collector Alain Servais. Through an active lending policy, the collection's artworks are lent worldwide to museums, institutions, independent collectives, and curators - based on the project.

Cemile Sahin - It Would Have Taught me Wisdom, 2021 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Cemile Sahin - It Would Have Taught me Wisdom, 2021 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

The Servais Family Collection includes contemporary artworks from all over the world with a notable focus on emerging scenes. The collection aims to gather ideas rather than objects, continuously seeking to explore a broader reality, akin to the philosophical quest to escape Plato's cave.

Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Hiroshi Sugimoto, Cemile Sahin, Damien Hirst, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Ícaro Zorbar © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Hiroshi Sugimoto, Cemile Sahin, Damien Hirst, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Ícaro Zorbar © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Hans Eijkelboom, Jeremiah Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Hans Eijkelboom, Jeremiah Johnson, Hank Willis Thomas © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Ícaro Zorbar, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Jeremiah Johnson © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Ícaro Zorbar, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Jeremiah Johnson © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

It features a wide array of media, including video, sculpture, installation, digital art, and photography, with a deliberate focus away from traditional painting and drawing. This reflects an ongoing commitment to transcend known realities by embracing new media and supporting artists who choose less conventional forms of expression. Artworks and artists are discovered not only through museums, biennials, and various contemporary art events but also through extensive research, following artists' trajectories, and a cultivated curiosity nourished by reading current events and analyzing their global consequences.

Alex Burke - Bibliothèque, 2008 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Alex Burke - Bibliothèque, 2008 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

The collection's defining characteristic is its multiplicity of voices and its eagerness to share. This is evident in its active lending policy, which includes collaborations with major museums such as the Reina Sofia, Whitney, Palais de Tokyo, and MAK Vienna. These partnerships make significant works available at no charge, allowing these institutions to focus on creating high-quality exhibitions. Additionally, the collection supports independent projects, supporting curators with their proposals, as seen in recent collaborations with Tlön Projects in Rotterdam and House in Berlin.

Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Laurel Nakadate, Anastasiya Yarovenko, Zuza Golińska © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Laurel Nakadate, Anastasiya Yarovenko, Zuza Golińska © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Zuza Golińska, Jenny Holzer, Mika Rottenberg, Wim Delvoye © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Zuza Golińska, Jenny Holzer, Mika Rottenberg, Wim Delvoye © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Anastasiya Yarovenko, Oscar Santillán © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Exhibition view - the View at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels, 2024 | works from left to right: Anastasiya Yarovenko, Oscar Santillán © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

The Collection organizes exhibitions at the Loft in Brussels. Each year, a curator is invited to reinterpret the collection and create new perspectives, new ways of approaching the collection. The curator is given carte blanche to innovate and experiment. The Loft also provides a residency space for young artists, further supporting the development and exposure of emerging talent.

Philipp Timischl - Philipp, I have the feeling I'm incredibly good looking, but have nothing to say / Corsica 2013, 2014 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Philipp Timischl - Philipp, I have the feeling I'm incredibly good looking, but have nothing to say / Corsica 2013, 2014 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Ismaël Bazri - Dans l’eau de Nice, 2021 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Ismaël Bazri - Dans l’eau de Nice, 2021 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

Off-site exhibitions are also organised and notable among these is AMEXICA, dedicated to the Mexican art scene at the Institut Culturel du Mexique in Paris, curated by Marisol Rodríguez in 2023. This exhibition featured significant installations by Yoshua Okón (Canned Laughter, 2009), Naomi Rincón Gallardo (Opossum Resilience, 2019), and Andrew Roberts (The Horde, 2020).

Naomi Rincón Gallardo, Opossum Resilience, 2019 during AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 © Aurélien Mole
Naomi Rincón Gallardo, Opossum Resilience, 2019 during AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 © Aurélien Mole
Yoshua Okón, Canned Laughter, 2009 during AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 © Aurélien Mole
Yoshua Okón, Canned Laughter, 2009 during AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 © Aurélien Mole
Exhibition view - AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 | works from left to right: Andrew Roberts and Fabián Chairez © Aurélien Mole
Exhibition view - AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 | works from left to right: Andrew Roberts and Fabián Chairez © Aurélien Mole
Exhibition view - AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 | works from left to right: Fritzia Irízar, Morelos León Celis and Teresa Margolles © Aurélien Mole
Exhibition view - AMEXICA at Institut Culturel du Mexique, Servais Family Collection, Paris, 2023 | works from left to right: Fritzia Irízar, Morelos León Celis and Teresa Margolles © Aurélien Mole

The current exhibition, "The View," curated by Nicolaus Schafhausen, opened in March 2024 and will be on view until March 2025. The exhibition is an attempt to reflect the diversity of the Servais Family collection and ask the following question: How can we live together? It aims to offer a distinctive outlook on an uncertain future amid political turmoil and growing public dissent.

Hiroshi Sugimoto - R.K.O Kenmore, New Jersey, 1976 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Hiroshi Sugimoto - R.K.O Kenmore, New Jersey, 1976 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

It features works by Cemile Sahin, Damian Hirst, Eloise Hawser, Hank Willis Thomas, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Icaro Zorbar, Pravdoliub Ivanov, Jean-Marc Bustamante, Josephine Meckseper, Adel Abdessemed, Ariel Orozco, Bodys Isek Kingelez, Cian Dayrit, Cildo Meireles, Hassan Sharif, Ismaël Bazri, Lungiswa Gqunta, Miguel Rio Branco, Ndayé Kouagou, Oscar Munoz, Philipp Timischl, Shilpa Gupta, Alex Burke, Anastasiya Yarovenko, Daniela Ortiz, Jenny Holzer, Kapwani Kiwanga, Kader Attia, Laurel Nakadate, Mika Rottenberg and John Kessler, Oscar Santillan, Wim Delvoye and more.

Cildo Meireles - Interções em Circuitos Ideolõgicos: Projeto Coca-Cola, 1970 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde
Cildo Meireles - Interções em Circuitos Ideolõgicos: Projeto Coca-Cola, 1970 at Loft, Servais Family Collection, Brussels © Hugard & Vanoverschelde

Guided tours are organised every month, upon registration. Here you can find more information about the collection.

Text written by Lorraine de Thibault, Director of the Servais Family Collection

Collections (145)

Museum Frieder Burda

The collection is presented to the public in alternating special exhibitions, always from new perspectives and in new contexts.

Fluentum

A nonprofit, privately run institution dedicated to exhibiting, producing, and collecting contemporary art, with a special focus on time-based media such as film and video.

Stiftung Museum Schloss Moyland

Museum for modern and contemporary art

GNYP Springmeier Collection

Combining art history with passion and curiosity.

BONISSON ART CENTER

A place dedicated to contemporary art, installed in the old cellars of Château Bonisson.

CLOUD SEVEN

"Cloud Seven is a place where different audiences can come together in a supportive, unassuming atmosphere to share ideas, be stimulated, and feel at home."

HANDLE WITH CARE AT COLECCIÓN SOLO

In this exhibition, held back art, raises questions about the act of collecting, the history of the works and their relationship with the exhibition space.

Photography Collection - Schloss Kummerow

A world-class contemporary photography collection housed in a baroque-style castle in Germany’s Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Saloni Doshi Collection

The Right to Look- Photographs from the Saloni Doshi Collection.

BRAUNSFELDER / FAMILY COLLECTION

Curated exhibitions of emerging and established artistic positions in the space of a former fittings factory.

MUSEUM OF CONTEMPORARY ART HELGA DE ALVEAR

One of the most relevant international contemporary art collections in Europe.

The Donum Collection

One of the world's largest accessible private sculpture collections

BASMOCA

One of the many initiatives of the Basma Al Sulaiman collection.

Zuzāns Collection

The largest private collection of Latvian art

ARtBON Collection and Foundation

Contemporary art is presented in a surprising way – and enriched by a blue exhibition pavilion

Museum Insel Hombroich

A unique cultural space of international significance

The Ojikutu Collection

Exquisite showcase of treasures of African art, culture, and history

miramART Collection

A non profit association created by Grand Hotel Miramare in Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy

Zeitz MOCAA

Collection relooked in 'Two Together'

AUDAIN ART MUSEUM

A leading arts organization based in Whistler, British Columbia

NEWM ART COLLECTION

A diverse collection of contemporary art

The Sotiris Felios Collection

A unique collection of contemporary art focused on the human figure.

Collezione De Iorio

Interview with Collector Mauro De Iorio

Kiran Nadar Museum of Art

KNMA is a non-commercial, not-for-profit organisation that aims to bridge the gap between art and the public

THE FARJAM FOUNDATION

One of the world’s foremost privately-owned art collections encompassing Islamic, Middle Eastern and Western art.

Colección SOLO

A collection displayed through different temporary exhibitions

COLLEZIONE TAURISANO

Unique Collection based in Naples, Italy

A PRIVATE COLLECTION

Frankfurt based Art Collector Tyrown Vincent on his 360° approach

The Bradshaw Collection

A collector couple that profits from the bundled synergy of their highly developed feel for art

Schlosspark Eybesfeld

Carefully executed art projects in a palace-garden setting

The Fernanda Feitosa & Heitor Martins Collection

A journey into the postwar Brazilian art scene

Takahashi Ryutaro Collection

One of the most important collections of contemporary Japanese art

Barjeel Art Foundation

Modern and contemporary art from four corners of the Arab world

The Perimeter

Famous contemporaries and Victorian industrial architecture in Bloomsbury

Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens

Re-opened and in the middle of Flanders, international art stars show in quick succession

West Collection

Key names in international art meet new voices

Rubell Museum

Curator Joey Lico teams up with artist Alexis Diaz to visit the mighty Rubell Museum in Miami

Vorres Museum

3 000 years of Greek history and postwar Greek art

Alexander Ramselaar Collection

A townhouse of young talent from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and around the world

Quetzal Art Centre

Contemporary art on a winery in the picturesque Alentejo region

Sammlung Wemhöner

A spontaneous exhibition set up in the now empty ballroom, before opening in 2023 as the collection's new home

Museum Liaunig

Nuriel Molcho and Francesca Gavin travel out of Vienna to hillside Carinthia, to meet with Peter Liaunig

Frissiras Museum

3 500 contemporary figurative paintings

Arario Museum in Space

Wide-ranging collection of Korean and Western art by the country’s leading collector and gallerist

Fondazione Brodbeck

Contemporary art in a post-industrial complex—in the shadow of a volcano

Peyrassol—Parc de Sculptures

A sculpture park on a centuries-old vineyard in Provence

Alexander Tutsek-Stiftung

A location for contemporary glass and photography

Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat

Argentina's wealthiest woman presents six centuries of art-treasure collecting

Museum Brandhorst

Francesca Gavin and Benjamin Jaworskyj explore a dazzling new space in Munich

Rossini Art Site (RAS)

Large-scale sculpture in a landscape park

Castello di Ama per l’Arte Contemporanea

Site-specific installations for a dual passion: art and wine

Kasteel Wijlre Estate

Art from the 1960s to the present in a modern pavilion

Fundació Vila Casas

Three buildings, three points of focus: painting, sculpture and photography

Gibbs Farm

A sculpture park in XXL format with monumental art in the grandness of nature

Kloster Schoenthal

Nature-inspired sculptures in a pristine landscape

Pinchuk Art Centre

Blue-chip contemporary in the first private museum in the former USSR

Museo James Turrell — The Hess Art Collection, Colomé

Turrell’s largest Skyspace and additional light rooms in breathtaking surroundings

Kunst(Zeug)Haus

An extensive private collection of Swiss contemporary art of the last fifty years

Mathaf—Arab Museum of Modern Art

A Royal Collection Spanning 200 Years of Arab Art – Doha, Qatar

KaviarFactory

DJ Cassy and Francesca Gavin meet with collectors Venke and Rolf A. Hoff in Henningsvær, Norway

Stella Art Foundation

An exhibition space for contemporary Russian art

Sara Piccinini

Senior Coordinator, Collezione Maramotti - Reggio Emilia, Italy

Reflection and Speculation

Sammlung von Kelterborn – Frankfurt, Germany

Deichtorhallen Hamburg – Sammlung Falckenberg

Positions of social criticism in German and American contemporary art – Hamburg, Germany

The Walther Collection

Inside and Outside the Frame – Neu Ulm, Germany

Peter Ibsen Collection

Minimalist Works That Hone Your Sense for Detail – Copenhagen, Denmark

Initiating Dialogues

Sammlung Hoffmann – Berlin, Germany

The Mallin Collection & Buckhorn Sculpture Park

Andrea Denver and Francesca Gavin meet with collectors Sherry and Joel Mallin in Upstate New York

The Agah Uğur Collection

One of the Largest Video Art Collections in Istanbul, Turkey

KA Modern and Contemporary Art Space

900 Square Meters Dedicated to Lebanon’s Most Significant Artists – Beirut, Lebanon

Art About Beauty and Infirmity

Collezione De Iorio – Trento & Verona, Italy

Living Collection

Gary Yeh and Francesca Gavin meet with architect and collector William Lim in Hong Kong

Early Passions

Z Collection – Hong Kong, China

Infinite Interiors

Philara Collection – Dusseldorf, Germany

Papko Art Collection

Works of Turkish Modernism at the legendary Ralli Apartment in Istanbul

Risky Business

Astrup Fearnley Museet – Oslo, Norway

Something Special, Something Sacred

The Goss-Michael Foundation – Dallas, United States of America

JAHM – Justin Art House Museum

Digital and Abstract Art — Melbourne, Australia

A More Democratic Art

MACBA – Museum of Contemporary Art of Buenos Aires, Argentina

Embracing the Accidental

Trajković Collection – Belgrade, Serbia

Galila's P.O.C.

A Collection Made up of Thematic Collections – Brussels, Belgium

Establishing Roots and Creating Links

The Ovidiu Șandor Collection – Timișoara, Romania

Instituto Figueiredo Ferraz

Abstract painting and concept art in Brazil’s interior – São Paulo

Conversation Pieces

KUNSTSAELE Berlin – Berlin, Germany

Magazzino Italian Art

Contemporary Italian Art on the Hudson River – New York

Slow Learning

de la Cruz Collection – Miami, United States of America

Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa

A venue for contemporary African art – Cape Town

The Elliott Eyes Collection

Engaging With the Collectors – Sydney

Foundation Francès

A French roadtrip reaching the radical reflections of artist Kader Attia

The Sublime Hyacinth Collection

Czech Art Meets Czech Design – Prague, Czech Republic

Marciano Art Foundation

Contemporary art at the Masonic temple – Los Angeles

Time Stamps

Julia Stoschek Collection – Berlin, Germany

Generative Grammars

Servais Family Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Chasing the Future

dslcollection – Paris, France

Charged Atmospheres

Transformer Station – Cleveland, United States of America

Places in, and out of, Time

Adrastus Collection – Arévalo, Spain

Eloquent Silences

The Givon Art Forum – Tel Aviv, Israel

Counting to Ten

Ten Cubed – Melbourne, Australia

Dispersing Narratives

The Wedge Collection – Toronto, Canada

Dialogues in Nature

Chatsworth – Bakewell, Great Britain

Present Pasts

The Feuerle Collection – Berlin, Germany

Space for the Future

The Vanhaerents Art Collection – Brussels, Belgium

Colección Contemporánea

A Global Collection from a Seasoned Art Collector In Mexico City

Adrastus Collection

A Collection That Shows the Diversity of Art in the Age of Globalization – Arevalo, Spain

Masters and Romantics

Collection Lambert – Avignon, France

Fondazione Rolla

A Collection of Modern and Contemporary Photography in Ticino

Finnish Rhapsody

Didrichsen Art Museum – Helsinki, Finland

Cranford Collection

One of Europe’s Most Important Collections with Renowned Contemporaries in Regent’s Park – London

Broad Minded

Artist Tomasz Kobialka on The Broad – Los Angeles, USA

Jean-Paul Najar Foundation

European-American Post-Minimalist Art in a Bauhaus-inspired building – Dubai

Treasure Hunt

The Wanås Foundation/Wanås Konst – Knislinge, Sweden

AMC Collezione Coppola

A Curious Collector Acquiring Art to Broaden his Understanding of the World

A Home for Light and Color

MALBA – Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires

Newport Street Gallery

Damien Hirst’s ‘Murderme’ Collection finds a permanent home – London

Franks Suss Collection

A Duo Investing in Artists and Not Cashing In – Hong Kong, London and Sydney

Mallin Collection & Buckhorn Sculpture Park

A Magic Sculpture Garden in Westchester County – Pound Ridge, New York

Shine On

Wurlitzer – Berlin-Pied-à-Terre Collection – Berlin, Germany

Houghton Hall – King's Lynn

Lavish 18th Century interiors juxtaposed with contemporary outdoor sculpture

Venet Foundation

An Artist’s Take on Collecting in the South of France

G2 Kunsthalle

Large-scale paintings of the New Leipzig School in dialogue

The Immaculate Collection

Igal Ahouvi Art Collection – Tel Aviv, Israel

dslcollection

The best of Chinese contemporary art, available 24/7/365

Thoma Foundation

Two intimate art spaces in Chicago and Santa Fe encourage dialogue between work and viewer

Lyon Housemuseum

Located near Melbourne, Australia, collector Corbett Lyon designed the Housemuseum to share it with the public

Follow The Yellow Brick Road

Inhotim – Instituto de Arte Contemporânea e Jardim Botânico

Portraiture Confronting a Land’s Traumatic Past

The Walther Collection – Project Space New York – New York City

Conceptual Authenticity

Sammlung Barbara und Axel Haubrok - haubrok projects - Berlin, Germany

A Self-taught Collector

Vass Collection - Veszprém, Hungary

Roots in Rotterdam

Concordia Collection - Rotterdam, Netherlands

Louvre goes Lens – and Pinault follows

How France’s most established museum and collector are redeveloping forgotten places

History Reinvented

Insights into the influential collection of Martin Parr

A Collection Which Never Sleeps

David Roberts Art Foundation – Great Britain, London

Get Lucky

David Walsh and his MONA

An Eye into a Secret World

SIP Shpilman Institute for Photography – Tel Aviv, Israel

Gifts for Philadelphia

Private collectors with a generous heart

A New Home for Miami’s Art Scene

On the opening of the Jorge M. Pérez Museum

Prima Materia at Punta Della Dogana

François Pinault Foundation - Venice, Italy

Eric and Jean Cass Collection

A private collection goes public

Bernardo Paz’s Transformative Museum

A closer look at Inhotim in Brazil

The Open Road to Jupiter

Robert & Nicky Wilson - Jupiter Artland

Collecting with an Impact

Dakis Joannou - Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art

Menil Collection Makeover

Starting with the parking lot

White Rabbit Collection

Chinese Contemporary Art – Australia, Sydney

MUSEUM ANGERLEHNER

One of the most important venues for contemporary art in Austria