A black reflecting pond covered with lilies now cuts through the heart of Delvaux’s Brussels atelier, surrounded by gray bamboo, sculpted figures, and furniture that looks frozen in time. The surreal scene belongs to Belgian artist Hans Op de Beeck, who has installed a series of works throughout Delvaux’s headquarters in Etterbeek.
In this unexpected setting for Op de Beeck’s dreamlike work, you walk through a monochrome landscape that has slipped into an active workshop filled with leather, tools, and the sounds of production. Delvaux has not stopped or staged the atelier for the installation. Its artisans keep working beside the sculptures, creating a constant contrast between the stillness of the artwork and the movement of the space around it.
A Gray Garden Inside the Atelier
The atelier’s centerpiece unfolds beneath the industrial skylights of Delvaux’s headquarters, where a reflective black pond is edged with bamboo and lotus flowers, while two childlike figures occupy opposite ends of the scene. One boy sits cross-legged holding a glass orb, while a winged girl appears nearby. Gray fiberglass sofas invite you to sit among them, and small displays carrying Delvaux’s Brillant emerge between the plants.
Op de Beeck has scattered still lifes and other sculptural compositions throughout the atelier, placing his work beside the benches where Delvaux’s leather artisans spend their days. Elsewhere in the building, you find the brand’s design studio, leather library, and Livre d’Or, an archive documenting more than 3,000 handbag designs.
How the Brillant Started It All
The story began at Art Basel in June 2026, when Delvaux CEO Jean-Marc Loubier came across one of Hans Op de Beeck’s sculptures and noticed a familiar shape inside it: a Delvaux Brillant. The bag had not been placed there by the brand. Op de Beeck had chosen it himself, creating an unexpected link between the artist and Delvaux before any collaboration had been discussed. That reference also felt particularly fitting in Brussels, where Delvaux introduced the Brillant in 1958, inspired by Le Corbusier’s Philips Pavilion at the Brussels World Expo.
No Capsule Collection, Just the Art
Perhaps the most unexpected part is that there is nothing new to buy. Maison Delvaux did not turn the installation into an artist-designed handbag or a limited-edition collection. Instead, Op de Beeck’s work remains exactly what it is: art placed inside the space where Delvaux develops and produces its leather goods. The story will continue in November 2026, when Delvaux brings another Hans Op de Beeck installation to its Fifth Avenue boutique in New York.
