Exhibition programme 2025

Spring/summer 2025 

Painting After Painting 
April 5–November 2, 2025 

Painting After Painting showcases the work of over seventy contemporary painters living and working in Belgium. Without striving for completeness, S.M.A.K. attempts to outline the recent developments and trends in the medium. Despite the many claims of its death, painting remains a thriving art form. Artists today draw on the motifs and techniques of the past, but equally explore and push the boundaries of the discipline. Some create narrative works addressing their daily lives, political and social issues, or questions of identity, gender and representation. Others adopt a more abstract or formalist language and explore the relationship with other contemporary image-making forms.  

Painting After Painting aims to celebrate the depth and complexity of the medium painting. The exhibition is complemented by a richly illustrated catalogue, featuring essays by Dominic van den Boogerd and Tanja Boon. Furthermore, S.M.A.K. will transform its Room 1 into a painting studio throughout the exhibition period, offering visitors an opportunity to express their own creativity.  

With works by: Michiel Ceulers, Shirley Villavicencio Pizango, Libasse Ka, Hadassah Emmerich, Tatjana Gerhard, Lysandre Begijn, Marie Zolamian, Veerle Beckers, Matthieu Ronsse, Bart Stolle, Sarah Smolders, Nelleke Cloosterman, Vedran Kopljar (& parents), Bendt Eyckermans, Kati Heck, Charline Tyberghein, Antoine Goossens, Frederik Lizen, Bram Demunter, Nel Aerts, William Ludwig Lutgens, Carole Vanderlinden, Tina Gillen, Vincent Geyskens, Felix De Clercq, Dieter Durinck, Kristof Santy, Michaël Van den Abeele, Anastasia Bay, Lisa Vlaemminck, Emmanuelle Quertain, Carlotta Bailly-Borg, Jannis Marwitz, Victoria Palacios, Leen Voet, Monika Stricker, Anna Zacharoff, Gijs Milius, Luís Lázaro Matos, Che Go Eun, Hannah De Corte, Julien Saudubray, Sanam Khatibi, Nokukhanya Langa, Henrik Olai Kaarstein, Natasja Mabesoone, Julien Meert, Aurélie Gravas, Pieter Vermeersch, Jonas Dehnen, Anne Van Boxelaere, Thom Trojanowski, Samuel Hindolo, Charlotte Vandenbroucke, Loïc Van Zeebroek, Helmut Stallaerts, Adam Leech, Louise Delanghe, Brieuc Dufour, Yann Freichels, Anthony Ngoya, Nina Gross, Jérôme Degive & Manuel Falcata, Karel Thienpont, Koen van den Broek, Mae Dessauvage, Ben Sledsens, Melissa Gordon, Diego Herman, Joëlle Dubois, Pieter Jennes, Nelson Louis, Stijn Cole.

Autumn/winter 2025 

Marc De Blieck 
October 17, 2025–March 15, 2026*

In the autumn of 2025, S.M.A.K. hosts the first comprehensive solo exhibition devoted to the work of Marc De Blieck (b. 1958, Sint-Niklaas, Belgium). De Blieck is a consistent and influential figure in conceptual photography in Belgium. He views the photographic image as a construction that arises at the intersection of technology, cultural norms, and aesthetic principles. Despite their simple construction, his images reveal an increasingly complex visual grammar, exposing the tension between a photographic vision and the artificial. De Blieck starts from a critical reflection on the essence and malleability of images, but also raises questions about our understanding of visual experience. His recent work forms the starting point for the selection of existing series, which highlight the artist’s fundamental research. 

Europalia España
November 28, 2025–May 3, 2026*

Every two years, EUROPALIA organizes a multidisciplinary artistic programme across Belgium, each time highlighting a specific country or theme. In 2025, the focus is on Spain, a country renowned for its vibrant culture. Drawing inspiration from the revolutionary artist Francisco Goya, EUROPALIA ESPAÑA explores current issues such as global politics, climate change, and societal dynamics. As with the previous editions dedicated to Georgia, Romania and Indonesia, S.M.A.K. is a partner institution once again and presents an exhibition on contemporary Spanish art. 

Narcisse Tordoir: Fake Barok (Collection presentation)
November 28, 2025–May 3, 2026*

Fake Barok (2016) is a perfect illustration of Narcisse Tordoir’s (b. 1954, Mechelen, Belgium) groundbreaking approach to painting. Consisting of giant photo collages measuring 27 metres long and 3.5 metres high, the installation can be read as a single, elongated frieze. The artist donated the work to S.M.A.K. in 2024, leading to its upcoming display in the museum’s largest exhibition space. 

Tordoir’s installation is inspired by the Baroque, a seventeenth-century artistic style that has long captivated him. He sees it as a style that exposes rather than conceals the political and social turmoil of the era, highlighting the inescapable and excessive truth of events such as the Reformation and religious wars. The artist uses both found (press) photographs and self-shot, often staged photographic material in the triptych, sometimes editing the imagery with pastel chalk. The work deals with the horrors of the refugee crisis, war and the climate emergency. These powerful images create a visceral tableau vivant, capturing the essence of our world today.  

Aziz Hazara: Bow Echo (Collection presentation)
November 28, 2025–May 3, 2026*

Bow Echo (2019) is a monumental five-screen video installation by Aziz Hazara (b. 1992, Wardak, Afghanistan). Created for the 2020 Sydney Biennale, it was donated to S.M.A.K. in 2022.  

Five boys bravely climb a large rock in the face of fierce winds and ceremoniously play a kazoo, a simple folk instrument with a nasal sound that is often perceived as humorous. By contrasting the inclement weather conditions on the high plains around Kabul with the shrill sound of the small, musical gesture of resistance, Hazara creates a perfect, almost poetic metaphor for the dire conditions of war and power mechanisms in Afghanistan, and the ways in which the traumatized population tries to cope with the situation.

10 Years of S.M.A.K. Moves 
December 19, 2025–May 3, 2026*

S.M.A.K. is more than just a museum that displays contemporary art. Since its inception in 2015, the outreach programme “S.M.A.K. Moves” has fostered connections between individuals and art, offering diverse experiences that encourage collective discovery, creation and emotional engagement. In the autumn of 2025, the museum will not just present a static retrospective, but an active programme that focuses on connection, education and impact. 

Reminder: ongoing exhibitions and projects 

WERKER COLLECTIVE - Afterwork (artist in residence)
Until March 11, 2025

Joris Van de Moortel: HELL ON EARTH, in search of PUR, NUR and FUR 
Until March 2, 2025 

Tsai Ming-liang: Walker Series 
Until March 9, 2025 

PRESENTS: Private donations to S.M.A.K.
Until March 9, 2025 

Together: Collaborative Art Practices
Until March 9, 2025  

Private Passion X Public Duty: Hoet & Matthys-Colle
Extended until October 2025 

(* Closing dates autumn exhibitions may be subject to change)