Dear reader

For Vlaams Bouwmeester, Karin Borghouts photographed churches that were being considered for conversion. The Fin-de-Siècle museum in Brussels has been photographed. Last chance to see the exhibition Vincent Was Here. And a podcast recorded by Donkere Kamer.

Photographing churches

On 30 January 2024, Team Vlaams Bouwmeester presented the book "Herscheppen. Ontwerpend onderzoek voor het Projectbureau Herbestemming Kerken 2016-2021".

For several decades, the use of churches for worship has been declining, creating a demand for new uses for these buildings. From 2016 to 2021, Flemish local councils wishing to reuse one of their church buildings could apply to the Project Office for Reallocating Churches. A richly illustrated and beautifully edited publication takes a look back at the work of the Project Office and the design research that saw the light of day in this context. In a pictorial essay, photographer Karin Borghouts takes us on a journey along some of the church buildings studied, paying particular attention to how they relate to their surroundings.

Herscheppen. Ontwerpend onderzoek voor het Projectbureau Herbestemming Kerken 2016-2021 a publication by the Team Vlaams Bouwmeester. 

With contributions by Charlotte Ardui, Sven Sterken, Sara Vermeulen, Els Vervloesem and Erik Wieërs and a visual essay by Karin Borghouts.
Dutch
Graphic design: Atelier Sven Beirnaert 
NL, 288 pages, visual essay 32 pages
softcover with dust jacket
ISBN 9789040304620
Order

See some photos

End of the Fin-de-Siècle Museum

On 8 January 2024, the Fin-de-Siècle Museum is closed tot the public. Located in the heart of Brussels, this museum is part of the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium. Closure is part of planned refurbishment. Karin Borghouts was commissioned to capture the museum in a series of 40 photographs.

See here

Vincent Was Here in Nuenen

To great interest, Queen Máxima opened the Van Gogh Village Museum in Nuenen in May 2023. Vincent Was Here is the first temporary exhibition. Karin Borghouts followed the tracks of Vincent van Gogh, who moved 33 times in his short life. The exhibition includes photographs of the places he stayed as well as still lifes that Karin has reconstructed and photographed. Sunflowers too.

The museum portrays Vincent's life in Nuenen and the importance of his Brabant period in his oeuvre. It shows the creation of his first masterpiece, The Potato Eaters, and the process leading up to it, with the many studies of hands, heads and peasants. Vincent van Gogh spent two years in Nuenen after deciding to become an artist in the Borinage. Many buildings in Nuenen still bear witness to his stay.

Vincent Was Here
Karin Borghouts
23 April - extended to 28 February 2024

Van Gogh Village Museum
Berg 29 - Nuenen The Netherlands (near Eindhoven)

Karin is present on the final Sunday 25 February, 1-5 pm. Welcome.
The photo book Vincent Was Here can also be ordered online.

Van Gogh painted a still life of jugs in Nuenen in 1885. Karin reconstructed this still life, but where she could not immediately find the right objects, she modelled ears on jugs and painted them. The composition is very close to the painting. The chiaroscuro light that Van Gogh so admired in Rembrandt was also used here.

Interview in Dutch

The interview Kaat Celis conducted with Karin Borghouts can now be listened to via the podcasts of De Donkere Kamer. There are also podcasts with Dirk Braeckman, Stephan Vanfleteren, Carl De Keyzer and many other Belgian and Dutch photographers.

Listen to the podcast Karin Borghouts in Dutch.
Also watch video door Dieter Demey (with subtitles in English and Dutch).

ZICHT is a monthly newsletter of Belgian artist photographer Karin Borghouts. She is working on her own projects and on commissioned assignments by museums, art and heritage institutions, architects, publishers and city councils.

www.karinborghouts.be