PASTORALE - A.J. Heymans and his new contemporaries

Opening: Friday 12/09/2025, 17:00 – 21:00

Exhibition: 13/09/2025 - 06/12/2025

Curated by Bruno Devos, Spazio Nour

Opening hours:

Saturday & Sunday: 13:00 – 18:00

Or by appointment

Free admission

Kasteel Hof d’Intere

Pastorijstraat 2, 2275 Wechelderzande

“No one can love the country as much as I do. For surely woods, trees, and rocks produce the echo which man desires to hear,” – Ludwig von Beethoven, 1810

'Pastorale' could mean “of the countryside” or “rural life.” It’s also the name Beethoven gave his Sixth Symphony. It's a shout-out to the whole range of nature’s moods: beautiful mornings, rough storms, on the countryside. Beethoven wasn’t just making music; he was telling us to stop rushing and actually listen.

Back in the late 1800s, the Kempen was seen as empty, bleak. Then painters like Adriaan Jozef Heymans showed up with their impressionist brushes, turning silence and light into stories, capturing a place where time seemed to hit pause.

Now, contemporary artists step into that same space, sparking a fresh dialogue with Heymans’ vision. With Bruno Devos and Spazio Nour curating, 'Pastorale' is an exhibition and a conversation. Past meets present, art meets activism, nature meets us.

In the castle, both tangible and intangible heritage spark questions about how we live and belong. In a world that never slows, the sounds, space, and art here pull you into that push and pull between running away and stepping in, between nostalgia and the here and now.

'Pastorale' asks: what if slowing down is the loudest thing you can do?

Participating artists

Arpaïs Du Bois 

Bram Van Stappen

Catherine Rochtus

Chris Ceulemans

Elise Corten

Floor Martens

Gert Motmans

Isabel Reine Devos

JM Bytebier

Joke Raes

Jonas Vansteenkiste & Veerle Michiels

Joris Van de Moortel

Kaat Van Doren

Kasper De Vos

Lara Gasparotto

Lieven Lefere

Mahmoud Saleh Mohammadi

Maura Van de Moortel

Michiel Ceulers

Monique Thomaes

Ronald Van der Hilst

Sine Van Menxel

Stief DeSmet

Subin Son 

William Ludwig Lutgens

About Bruno Devos

Bruno Devos is the founder of HOPPER&FUCHS, an independent publishing house based in Antwerp, Belgium, known for producing high-quality art and photography books. With over 30 years of experience in publishing and printing, Bruno guides artists through the complex process of creating one of the most powerful artistic objects: the book. All titles are locally printed in Belgium to ensure full control over quality and craftsmanship. Alongside publishing, Bruno curates exhibitions and promotes cultural diplomacy worldwide, regularly lecturing at art schools and serving on academic juries. Once a book is made, it travels — with launches, talks, and fairs at venues such as Centre Pompidou, The Photographer’s Gallery London, M HKA, WIELS, and international art book fairs in Tokyo, Berlin, Singapore, and Arles.

LOVE LETTER TO THE COUNTRYSIDE – POEM BASED ON BEETHOVEN PASTORALE N°6

No one can love the country like this anymore The woods don’t whisper, they speak loud, rough bark tracing stories into your skin, rocks steady beneath tired feet, and still—the echo lingers, soft and alive. Joyful feelings upon arriving in the country? Maybe, between dust in your lungs and sunlight pouring slow like warm honey. Hope hangs thick, but beneath it all, a green pulse keeps beating steady. By the brook Water moves slow, a gentle breath, catching fractured light on broken glass. Time drifts, a quiet rhythm, painted in mud and memory. This sound box hums—a lullaby, worn but true. Peasant merrymaking? Feet drum steady on the earth, shadows dance in a delicate fight of light and dark. Joy tastes like sweat and salt, laughter spills through cracks, freedom rides a quiet edge, warm and alive. The thunderstorm Clouds gather heavy, breath wild and deep, lightning tears the sky—sharp, sudden. Sound boxes rumble with thunder’s voice, the world waits, holding its breath for the calm after the storm. The shepherd’s song after the storm Mist wraps the world like soft velvet,silence hums, fierce and gentle. Nature exhales—healing, breathing, searching for peace in scars and sunlight alike. Is this utopia? Dystopia? No—just earth, raw, warm, and alive.

The shepherd’s song after the storm The day wakes in gold, everything stretches, everything shines, leaves shimmer like they’ve never known rain. A bird sings a note that wasn't there yesterday, and the world leans in, listening. The thunderstorm Even thunder had to laugh, loud and wild, cracking open the sky just to watch it sparkle. Puddles clapped back—delighted, the whole scene a joyful mess. Peasant merrymaking? Bare feet skip through grasses that tickle and tease, a pear drops from a tree and nobody minds, someone hums a tune as bees buzz along. Laughter is loud and clumsy and even the shadows join in. By the brook Water giggles around the stones, dragonflies scribble lazy poems in the air, a leaf spins like it’s dancing just for fun, someone’s singing, maybe the wind,or maybe just you. Joyful feelings upon arriving in the country? Yes—in the way your mind softens, in the way the sky seems to open just for you, you carry nothing but sunlight, and it’s more than enough. No one can love the country like this anymore Oh but they can—and they do. With pockets full of flowers and stories still warm, with open hands and grass-stained knees, hearts wide open as the sky above the fields, this joy is real—and it’s yours.

Text: Sofie Renap

Graphics: Silvia Holscher