Starting in September 2024, Bonnefanten and Kasteel Wijlre Estate will join forces to present a unique and complete overview of the former prvate collection of the Limburg collector couple, Marlies & Jo Eyck.

On display at these two venues, the exhibition is a testament to distinctive private collecting. Marlies and Jo Eyck are currently on the list of the fifteen most important collectors in the Netherlands, and their collection is without question the most important former private collection in Limburg. This is the first time the collection will be exhibited in its entirety. Maintaining Its Spirit encompasses over 140 works by 60 artists.

Eyck Collection

In 2012, the Bonnefanten acquired an extensive private collection of contemporary art. Amassed over a span of forty years by entrepreneurial couple Marlies and Jo Eyck, the collection includes renowned names from the geometric-abstract tradition. The collection’s home base is Kasteel Wijlre, the castle that serves as the Eyck’s residence. Thanks in part to considerable financial support from the Province of Limburg, the Bonnefanten’s acquisition of the collection helps to keep this South Limburg country estate publicly accessible, including the beautifully landscaped gardens, carriage house and exhibition pavilion.

On display at Bonnefanten

Starting on September 22, the exhibition Maintaining Its Spirit: Collection Marlies & Jo Eyck will be set up in three clusters spread out over ten galleries at the Bonnefanten. The first two rooms will feature a group of abstract sculptures from the 1980s as well as an extensive series of works by one artist, ‘computer pioneer’ Peter Struycken. Next, five galleries will provide an impression of the increasing multiformity of the collection since the 1990s, including works by Carel Visser, Ger van Elk and Guido Geelen, but also by Luc Tuymans, Marlene Dumas, Keith Edmier, Jaroslaw Fliciński and Fons Haagmans. The last three rooms, including the monumental main gallery, are devoted to geometric-abstract works from the 1960s and 1970s. The paintings and works on paper possess an international stature, helping Marlies and Jo Eyck establish their name in the art world.

On display at Kasteel Wijlre Estate

Starting on September 1, Kasteel Wijlre Estate will be showing around 25 works in the context in which they were originally acquired. The relationship between art and nature plays an explicit role in parts of the collection and is also expressed in a self-evident manner here. The works of Ad Dekkers and Peter Struycken acquired by the Eycks are found in a logical context in Wijlre in the vicinity of permanent, monumental works by these artists on the grounds.

Maintaining Its Spirit: Collection Marlies & Jo Eyck at Bonnefanten is made possible by the Province of Limburg.

Header: Michel François, Atelier Pissenlits (Dandelion studio)(detail), 2001 – 2005, Bonnefanten Collection, Acquired in 2012, with support of the Province of Limburg, from Eyck Collection. Photo: Peter Cox