PARIS.- Christie's announces the forthcoming sale on December 2 of Mia Van Hool: L'audace à l'oeuvre, which will be exhibited in Brussels from September 10 to 13 as part of RendezVous Brussels Art Week. Organized in honor of Mia Van Hool, a leading figure of the Belgian contemporary art scene renowned for her discerning eye, this sale also provides Christie's with an opportunity to celebrate 50 years of active presence at the heart of one of Europe's most inventive cultural capitals and to reaffirm its commitment to Belgium. Built with passion over four decades, this collection brings together the boldest and most radical forms of contemporary creation: the melancholic insolence of Yoshitomo Nara, the conceptual rigor of On Kawara, the playful irony of Marcel Broodthaers, the quiet color of Luc Tuymans, the unsettling flesh-like sculptures of Berlinde De Bruyckere, the feminist activism of Miriam Cahn, and Marlene Dumas' uncompromising, contemplative view of humanity. Powerful, eclectic, and harmonious, the collection reflects the residence near Antwerp where it was housed. Within a uniquely warm atmosphere that epitomizes a Flemish identity shaped by culture and innovation, the portrait of an exceptional collector emerges: Mia Van Hool.

Mia Van Hool: A Bold and Forward-Looking Taste

Since 1988, Mia Van Hool has pursued a singular artistic journey. A collector driven by a resolutely avant-garde vision, she has dedicated her unique perspective to Belgian and international contemporary art. Mia Van Hool embodies a collection shaped by an intimate knowledge of artists and their works, offering a living panorama of contemporary creation and the spirit of our times.

Known and respected by all actors on the contemporary art scene, her collection has attracted sustained interest from major Belgian museums such as S.M.A.K. in Ghent and M Leuven. In return, works from her collection, particularly those by renowned Belgian artists, have frequently been lent to major public exhibitions in Belgium as well as in New York, Helsinki, Berlin, Tokyo, London, and Venice. A committed patron of artistic creation in all fields, from the visual arts to music, she supports numerous contemporary art institutions, including the Wiels art center in Brussels.

Gifted with a rare ability to grasp the world around her, Mia Van Hool's journey offers a remarkable illustration of what “collecting” means in Flanders. In her own way, she exemplifies a lifestyle and a Flemish culture fully reflected in the modernity and exceptional coherence of her home in Lier, which serves as the anchor for the collection on the outskirts of Antwerp. Rooted in its time and in the era it has traversed, this legacy continues and looks toward the future.

Highlights of the Sale

Among the approximately sixty works to be offered at auction in Paris on December 2, the great names of the postwar Belgian art scene occupy a prominent place. Luc Tuymans' Plates, an oil on canvas from 1993 that has been lent on numerous occasions and is estimated at €150,000–250,000, is among the sale's highlights. Two additional paintings by the artist are included in the selection, one of which was exhibited in 2001 at the Belgian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, as well as a watercolor, Cakes I (1989).





Also featured is Marcel Broodthaers, a major figure in Belgian art recently celebrated by MoMA and the Museo Reina Sofía, represented by Coupe avec coquilles d'œufs (Bowl with Eggshells), emblematic of his humor and poetry (€150,000–250,000).

Reflecting a taste in constant evolution, the collection demonstrates the attention Mia Van Hool pays to contemporary creation and the support she offers many young artists through her acquisitions. Among the most closely followed contemporary Belgian artists are Thierry De Cordier's Le Petit Philosophe (€50,000–70,000), as well as works by Raoul De Keyser, Michaël Borremans, Berlinde De Bruyckere, and more contemporary pieces by Rinus Van de Velde.

The star lot of the sale, Yoshitomo Nara's A Knock Down Out Dragged Fight (1999), is emblematic of the Japanese artist's most sought-after period. Both vulnerable and defiant in its gaze, the figure encapsulates the visual universe that has made Yoshitomo Nara one of the leading figures of contemporary art in Asia and worldwide (€300,000–500,000).

Among the collection's most significant works is also 22 October 1992, a rare Date Painting by On Kawara (€250,000–350,000). A testament to the artist's intellectual rigor and his interest in the most radical artistic practices of his time, the work belongs to the celebrated Today series, one of the most influential conceptual projects of the twentieth century. Similarly, a 1979 Abstraktes Bild by Gerhard Richter, characteristic of his investigations into abstraction and perception, reflects the same intellectual rigor (€150,000–250,000).

Finally, the richness of the collection also lies in Mia Van Hool's commitment to women artists. The first artist to enter the Louvre's collections during her lifetime and holder of the world auction record for a living female artist (Christie's, May 14, 2025), Marlene Dumas leads a group of works by women artists with Fragmented Beauty (€50,000–70,000), alongside works by Barbara Kruger, Louise Bourgeois, Miriam Cahn, Leslie Hewitt, and Berlinde De Bruyckere, who is represented by the wax, resin, and epoxy sculpture Elie (2010) (€60,000–80,000).

Christie's Celebrates 50 Years in Brussels During RendezVous Brussels Art Week

Christie's Brussels is the leading house for Belgian collections of international significance. It has been entrusted with the auction of numerous major Belgian private and corporate collections. Most recently, in March 2026, Christie's offered in London a group of works from the Roger and Josette Vanthournout Collection (over £50 million) after having dispersed major collections in Paris such as the Onzea-Govaerts Collection (€10 million, March 2025) and the Danute and Alain Mallart Collection (€13.5 million, October 2024).

A major event of Brussels' autumn cultural season, RendezVous Brussels Art Week, taking place from September 10 to 13, 2026, provides the ideal opportunity for Christie's to celebrate 50 years alongside collectors and art professionals in Belgium. An annual celebration of Brussels' artistic scene, RendezVous Brussels Art Week brings together galleries, public institutions, private foundations, auction houses, and independent artistic initiatives throughout the city, attracting each year some of the world's leading contemporary art collectors. It is therefore the perfect occasion to wish a happy anniversary to the Christie's Belgium team led by Astrid Centner.