Initially the collection of the Design Museum Gent predominantly consisted of eighteenth-century period furniture, but along the way it became the only Belgian museum specialising in twentieth-century and contemporary design. Their pride is the art nouveau collection, among the most beautiful collections of Belgium. Alongside important Belgian artists ( Henry van de Velde, Victor Horta and Paul Hanker) we see the work of foreign designers like Josef Hoffman and Otto Wagner (both Wiener Secession).Works of representatives of modernism (Le Corbusier and Gaston Eysselinck) and post- modernism (Allessandro Mendini, Aldo Rossi, Hans Hollein and Andrea Branzi) are also part of the collection. The minimalism of Maarten Van Severen is confronted with the sculptural approaches by Pieter De Bruyne and Emiel Veranneman. Work by outsiders like Borek Sipek and Ron Arad show the broad interest for contemporary design. In this new museum catalogue, author Lieven Daenens, curator of the museum, provides his readers with an extensive introduction and reproductions and notes on and about approximately 175 top pieces from the collections, which are the main attractions in the museum.
