Art collection

The 400 artists from very diverse backgrounds whose works are included in our collection defend common values. Their sensitivity to what is happening in the world leads them to analyze, denounce, reject, or sublimate, exerting an influence on the awakening, curiosity and development of the spirit of tolerance and reflection. 

Art sparks audacity, it has the power to change the world and help us flourish. The notions of creativity and innovation, which are key elements to our group’s success, are shared through our collection. Art is displayed in the workspaces to promote and stimulate the spirit of inventiveness. 

The company thus becomes a place of personal development offering employees the opportunity to enrich themselves culturally and intellectually. Finally, the “beauty” that art evokes is a source of wonder and enchantment. 

The collection is not open to the public. It is exhibited in the workspaces and, being a conduit for internal communication, is solely intended for the group’s employees. 

The collection addresses important current themes such as the environment, community and solidarity. 

Artistic commissions have enhanced the collection with specific contributions that are directly related to the group and its activities. 

Commissioning new and unique creations implies a relationship of trust between the patron and the artist who is given the freedom to create a work that would not have seen the light without this relationship. The commissioned work goes beyond simple patronage, becoming genuine support for artistic creation, from concept to completion. 

The first Lhoist commissions were sculptures that were specifically created for designated spaces inside and outside our head office. Later commissions revolved around photography, focusing on the sites and the production processes as "documentary" sources for industrial archaeology and for the collective memory. The “environmental” portraits of people in quarry and work situations reflects the human aspect of our industrial group. 

Thanks to guest curator Bernard Blistène, whose eye was quickly drawn to the beauty of the Limelette site, the exhibition titled De natura rerum opens up to the vast and inescapable theme of nature and the evocation of Gaia, our Mother Earth.

We felt that, when dealing with this important subject, it was crucial not to go into issues of global warming, which every passing day recalls, but to escape, through the eyes of artists, and gaze with them at the beauty of the universe. The artworks, displayed across the three floors of the head office, take us on a journey, from bottom to top, revealing the secrets of underground life, the inalienable power of minerals, the expanse of the landscape with its skyline, the magic of flowers, the magnificence of menacing clouds when the earth meets the sky, and the quest for infinity and its mysteries.

The various paintings, sculptures, photographs and drawings all explore and interpret nature in subtle combination with elements from the park surrounding the building, notably with the play of light and shadow emanating from the plants, the trickling of water from the ponds, the long-trimmed lines of the hedges, and the imposing majesty of the trees in the photographs commissioned from Rodney Graham and exhibited in the boardroom.

The curator's idea of inviting employees to hang an artwork in their office that echoes the De natura rerum exhibition has not only opened up a dialogue among everyone, but also broadened the impact of this exhibition, which seeks to give us a breath of fresh air and allow a moment of escape.

Contact our art curator: melanie.berghmans@lhoist.com