Belgium played a surprisingly important role in Ossip Zadkine’s career. Before his international breakthrough, he found collectors, critics and fellow artists there who supported his work. His first retrospective was held in Brussels in 1933, and Antwerp also became an important point of connection. Ossip Zadkine and Belgium traces these ties through sculpture, drawings and graphic work, alongside pieces by his wife Valentine Prax and Belgian contemporaries.

The exhibition also includes Double Portrait of Henk and Nel Wiegersma from 1930, from The Phoebus Foundation collection. Zadkine made the work for the Dutch doctor and artist Hendrik Wiegersma, with whom he was friends. Henk and his wife Nel are brought together in a single compact sculptural form, with Wiegersma’s hand gently framing his wife’s head. The simplified features and angular volumes are characteristic of Zadkine’s visual language, while the closeness of the couple gives the work a distinctly personal character.

Ossip Zadkine and Belgium runs from 31 October 2026 to 18 April 2027 at KMSKA in Antwerp. More information and tickets via kmska.be.