HENRY VAN DE VELDE
F O U N D A T I O N
WE ARE THE FOURTH GENERATION.
Henry van de Velde was our great grandfather. Some of the silverware and dinner sets we grew up with were his designs. Our parents, his grandchildren, shared their personal memories of him with us. We knew he was a somewhat well-known architect, as we have visited the houses and buildings he designed and built and we all have a copy of his book (website in Dutch, book in German only) in our bookcase. So for us, he was and is a very present part of the family, although he died in 1957, before most of us were born.
The 2013 exhibition Henry van de Velde – Passion – Function – Beauty, celebrating the 150th anniversary of Henry van de Velde’s birth changed this perspective completely. This exhibition, mounted in both Brussels, Belgium and Weimar, Germany, made us deeply appreciate Henry van de Velde’s place in history, his forward-thinking ideas, and how he is still able to inspire all kinds of people across the globe.
The Bauhaus exhibition of 2019 in Weimar, Germany and the restoration of the Book Tower (Boekentoren) in Gent, Belgium continue to celebrate his worldwide influence.
As next generation descendants, we were motivated to support this contemporary enthusiasm for the Henry van de Velde world of ideas through the creation of a family foundation in his name.