Axel Vervoordt
All my activities converge into a single pursuit: the search for universality
«Symbolically, intuition is both a beginning and an end, a way of discovering a new source»
Some people design spaces; others seem to listen to them. Axel Vervoordt unquestionably belongs to the latter. On the occasion of the 2026 edition of BRAFA Art Fair in Brussels, the great Belgian alchemist of interior design reflects on his life and work, moving through more than half a century of art, visions, and inhabitable silences. Born in 1947 into a family of horse breeders, Vervoordt transformed antiquities into a philosophy of life and interior design into an almost spiritual gesture. His style—rooted in natural materials, weathered surfaces, raw finishes, Feng Shui principles, and a deep affinity with wabi-sabi—does not seek effect, but resonance. From 1968 to today, his journey has evolved into a cultural ecosystem centered around Kanaal, a former distillery on the banks of the Albert Canal transformed into a timeless universe where archaeology, eighteenth-century furniture, twentieth-century design, ZERO, and Gutai coexist without hierarchy. A place where every object, regardless of its market value, shares an essential and universal beauty. Together with his wife May and sons Boris and Dick, Vervoordt has built a family enterprise that now engages with creativity on a global scale. Art as a daily practice, as an exercise in humility, as a mental space before a physical one. In this conversation, Axel Vervoordt speaks not of style, but of time, intuition, and freedom—and of how to inhabit the world with grace.
On the occasion of BRAFA 2026, what kind of dialogue do you hope to create between the works you present and the audience encountering them?
AXEL VERVOORDT
This year, the BRAFA stand was curated by my son Boris together with our team of art historians. I trust them completely when it comes to selecting the works and shaping a space that feels like a “collector’s room.” Since it is a Belgian fair, we always aim to present some Belgian artists, while also creating a dialogue with the exhibitions currently on view at Kanaal—for instance by bringing a painting by William Turnbull and a sculpture by Renato Nicolodi, both of which are on display there at the moment.
In what way have your curatorial work and the exhibitions you have realized marked the different phases of your life and the evolution of your company?
AXEL VERVOORDT
Every exhibition has been a successive step in my life and in the life of our company. Conversations within the curatorial team often began with a question or an intuition, and from there pushed us toward increasingly deep and radical inquiries. Each theme opened up a new source of knowledge. Becoming a curator was, for me, a way of sharing that knowledge with others.
The environments you create seem less designed than revealed, as if they already existed and were simply brought to light. How important are intuition and listening compared to technique in your creative process?
AXEL VERVOORDT
They are extremely important. Symbolically, intuition is both a beginning and an end—a way of finding a new source. For artists, scientists, and collectors alike, I believe that every great discovery is born from intuition. Intuition is a feeling that arises from total freedom, from being in tune with cosmic energy. It is knowledge before knowledge. It is like the authentic, genuine reaction of a child. I always follow intuition first, and only afterwards do I reflect and study.
How would you define today what you have been doing for more than half a century?
AXEL VERVOORDT
For me, all these activities come together in a single pursuit: the search for universality.
Interview: Germano D’Acquisto
Portraits: Michaël Huard
Installation Views: Jan Liégeois. Courtesy of Kanaal
