Collection
Abby’s museum collection comprises the urban collections of Visual Art, Decorative Art and Urban History: rich and exceptionally diverse collections that come with a wealth of stories.
The extensive collection includes among others one of the most important ceramic collections in Flanders, masterpieces by old masters and a special collection of Kortrijk-based animal and landscape painters, in addition to an eclectic mix of interior objects, archaeological finds and folk art.
There is no permanent collection on display in Abby. Collection pieces are featured in temporary exhibitions and in a dynamic, biennially changing collection presentation: the ReCollection.
ReCollection
The ‘Recollection’ is a nod to the eponymous spiritual tradition in which the nuns would collect and reflect on their thoughts in order to reach a higher state of consciousness. In Abby, the coming together of highly diverse objects and artworks from the collection invariably leads to new insights and surprising connections.
As part of Abby’s Living room, a biennially changing art installation, the collection constitutes an artistic cabinet of curiosities, each time curated by other contemporary artists and presented in a wall-sized display case.
In the first ReCollection and Living room (29 March 2025 - 6 September 2026), artist Rinus Van de Velde gives a personal interpretation to the art objects and curiosities he selected from the collection and integrates them into his imagined universe.
Discover the collection online
Here you can soon to discover the more than 600 unique pieces from the core collection Ceramics, Visual Art before 1800 and Visual Art 1800-1914. More collection pieces can be viewed on the platform erfgoedinzicht.be.
Permanent in Abby
Het Oefenraam
Navid Nuur (Living)
Het Oefenraam by Navid Nuur consists of two compressed mirrors with unexpected see-through openings with organic material in between. The layered mirror artwork is an exercise in observation. It invites you to play with perspectives, challenges your gaze and sharpens the senses. Is what you are observing real or just an illusion? Does a work of art change by how you look at it? Does that also go for people?
Navid Nuur lives and works in The Hague. In a working process that balances between art and alchemy, he tries to make immaterial phenomena – such as the flow of energy or the experience of time – visible. His work is exhibited internationally.
Puzzle Piece
Mohammed Alani (STAIRWELL)
Life is complex. How to deal with its abundance, intensity or absurdity? Where do you start if you want to use your time on earth in a meaningful way and get a grasp of who you are?
Artist’s tip: start in the corners.
Mohammed Alani lives and works in Brussels. He creates refreshing, seemingly simple images and objects that nod to art history and play with the triviality of everyday life.
Mirror of simple souls
COSEINCORSO (abby cafe)
De collectie waartoe deze spiegel, bank en kandelaar behoren, is geïnspireerd op de sobere levensstijl van de Begijnen. Mirror of Simple Souls (2022) werpt sociale en politieke vragen op over autonomie, samenwerking, feminisme en de rol van spiritualiteit in de samenleving.
Met hun designstudio COSEINCORSO tasten Marzia Cerio en Marwann Frikach het grensgebied af tussen kunst en design.
Research
Abby initiates and stimulates research into the collection, in an ongoing dialogue between the museum team, external experts and the general public. Stories about and links between collection pieces raise new questions and create room for debate, exchange and knowledge sharing.
Ceramics
Abby manages one of the most important and extensive ceramic collections in Flanders. The collection consists of ceramics of all types – unglazed pottery, wall tiles, majolica, stoneware and porcelain. It ranges from prehistoric times to the twenty-first century and provides an overview of the world’s main production centres, with pieces from China and Japan, the Persian and Arabic world, and the largest (Western) European centres.
The collection was extensively assessed and studied in 2022-2023. A core collection of 360 items was distilled from a total of more than 3,000 items. This was done from three perspectives:
The world in time and space (fascination with the history, discovery and organisation of the world), The full life (religions and rituals, animal and human behaviour, food culture) and The focus on identities (nature and culture, the gaze upon the other, political identities).
Read all about it in the collection book Een walvis uit Delft, ossenbloed uit China (Marieke De Baerdemaeker and Jo Tollebeek, 2025).
Visual art
up to 1800
Abby's Old Art collection consists of paintings, graphic art and sculptures from the period 1500-1800, featuring works by artists from Kortrijk with an international reputation, as well as lesser-known masters with a remarkably high-quality output. The undisputed highlight of this collection are the works of Roelant Savery (1576-1639), including two works that feature on the Flemish government’s list of Flemish masterpieces.
The collection of visual art until 1800 was extensively assessed and studied in 2023-2024. A new collection book not only considers the wondrous animal landscapes, burning ruins and intriguing portraits from a(n) (art) history viewpoint but also from broader perspectives such as workshop practice, relationship to the world, the influence of ’grand narratives’ and the echoes of evolving identities.
How does Roelant Savery process his traumatic wartime childhood in an enchanting winter landscape? What secret messages are concealed in allegorical paintings? And what links Kortrijk native Jan Coelenbier with the legacy of Johannes Vermeer? Find out in the collection book Tussen Vlaamse kroegen en Boheemse wouden (Oliver Kik, 2025).
Visual art
1800-1914
The main focus of the Abby collection is the extended 19th century: a period in which visual art thrived in Kortrijk and also the period that forms the basis of the museum’s collection. This collection was also thoroughly assessed and studied in 2023-2024.
The core collection Visual Art 1800-1914 comprises over 200 works and reflects the movements and trends of the nineteenth century: from neoclassicism and romanticism across realism, impressionism and symbolism up to the emergence of modernism on the eve of the Great War.
It is a time of contrasts, between city and countryside, rich and poor, past and present, activity and tranquillity, the familiar and the foreign. In the collection book Binnenskamers, buitenshuis (Marjan Sterckx and Tom Verschaffel, 2025) moralising history and genre scenes, exotic interiors, industrial landscapes, stylised portraits and endearing animal paintings from the Abby collection combine to tell the multifaceted story of this interesting period.
Depot
Since the spring of 2018, Trezoor, the regional heritage depot for Southwest Flanders, has acted as a professional repository for the movable and immovable heritage of the city and the region – as well as for the Abby collection. The heritage depot is a safe haven for objects and artworks that are laden with history and meaning, and some of which are centuries old. Light, dirt, fluctuating humidity and unwanted intruders – no matter how small – have no chance there. The collection depot can only be accessed upon request.
Address: Vier Linden 1, 8501 Heule
Contact: trezoor@kortrijk.be
Abby Memory
The most fun way to discover Abby's art collection. In this memory game, you’re not looking for identical pictures, but for collection pieces that form unexpected pairs. The captions help you find the right match. Train your brain, spark your imagination, and broaden your view on art with this playful memory game full of surprising connections. Suitable for both young and adult art lovers!
