A Surreal Collection of Objects at Flanders Art Suite

Perhaps the most iconic art piece created by the 20-years-plus conceptual artist duo Sofie Lachaert and Luc Dhanis, is one of two intertwining chairs. At times, the bench-of-sorts can be found inside the Flanders Art Suite, in Tielrode, Belgium. Other times, it’s traveling (recently it visited Gallery Fumi in Mayfair, Galerie Zink in Waldkirchen, Germany.)

Bench or no bench, the Suite is always flush with objects and furnishings that make you look and think twice. Take, for example, a honey spoon, specially designed for the Suite. Its shape is different from what we’re used to, its attention to detail and fine silverwork (Sophie is a trained silversmith) aims to make you think about the bee and beekeeper, and all the work it took to create honey as a product.

In the bedroom, there are gold velvet theatre curtains that close around the bed, made by Show-Tex, makers of curtains for the stage.

Next to the bedroom is an all-white dining room, with white furniture that looks to be sliding into the walls, along with the vase and real flowers, that also appear to be getting swallowed up by the wall.

The bathtub isn’t made of fiberglass or porcelain – it’s a German wine barrel, though it is functional. There is a blurry silver “mirror” in the bathroom that looks like a mirror would, after a hot shower, created by Belgian artist Hilde De Decker. On another wall, Sofie and Luc repurposed metal plates – popular 20 years ago in Belgium, now unfashionable – into a vertical string of mirrors.

“A lot of people have told me that it’s kind of healing for them to come here and see all these beautiful things,” says Stefanie, assistant to Sofie and Luc for nearly a decade.

“If you come back again, you’ll see something else. Sofie is always changing things – that’s the idea. It’s a process that will never end, probably.”

To book a stay at Flanders Art Suite, click here.

Photographs by: Atelier Lachaert Dhanis