KMSKA unveils ambitious exhibition programme for 2026, featuring international masters such as Antony Gormley, Philip Aguirre y Otegui and Ossip Zadkine

06.02.2026 – 17.05.2026 (print room) 

The year kicks off with an engaging exhibition in the print room. The focus is on a recently restored painting from the KMSKA collection. It shows how the inhabitants of Antwerp demolished the citadel in 1577, which had been built a few years earlier on the initiative of the much-feared Duke of Alba. What at first glance appears to be a lively cityscape, reveals, on closer inspection, a story of power, manipulation and quackery. The fall of Alba's citadel. Image and memory in turbulent times explores how history is not only written but painted too. How does art colour our memories of the past? What do we remember, what do we forget, and who decides what we get to see?

28.03.2026 – 30.08.2026

The pieces in the KMSKA collection conceal many secrets that are not immediately visible to the naked eye. As the only museum in Flanders with the status of a scientific institution, research into artistic thought processes and creative methods is central to its activities. The ArtFactFinders exhibition invites young visitors themselves to take up the role of researcher. Using technological equipment such as microscopes and UV lamps, as well as existing scans, they can set to work studying the artworks layer by layer and unravelling the mysteries beneath the surface. 

This playful, interactive exhibition was created in collaboration with a hundred schoolchildren and is inspired by a concept from the Rijksmuseum. It is an exciting opportunity for children aged 8 to 14, either school-based or with their families, to think outside the box and experience how art and science come together. More mature detectives are also welcome; the exhibition provides adapted kits for preschool children and in-depth packages for young people and adults, so that every visitor can take on the challenge of solving the art mysteries.

11.04.2026 – 30.08.2026

James Ensor, Rik Wouters and Jules Schmalzigaug are known as Belgium's Big Three modern colourists for good reason. These are artists of repute who each in their own way sought to transcend the mild colour palette of the Impressionists. For them, the power of innovative design lay precisely in the play and resonance of rich pigments. Schmalzigaug, for example, wondered what had become of Rubens' 'red that sings' in modern art and cherished the ambition of becoming a master of spectacular colours himself. 

The fact that the KMSKA houses the largest collection of Ensor, Wouters and Schmalzigaug provides an excellent starting point for a striking exhibition. A red that sings explores the vermilion reds, intense blues and bright yellows of the three modern masters, as well as the origins and role of their vivid visual language. Visitors can expect an original presentation of the collection, supplemented by some exceptional loans by the three protagonists. In addition to these masterpieces, the exhibition also features works by Rubens, De Braekeleer, Monticelli and Willem Paerels.

23.05.2026 - 20.09.2026

In Antony Gormley. Geestgrond, the British artist (born 1950), one of the world's most renowned contemporary sculptors, enters into dialogue with the KMSKA. He explores the roots of his practice and reveals his latest artistic interests. The exhibition is curated by the internationally acclaimed curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev, responsible for leading exhibitions such as the Sydney Biennale (2008), dOCUMENTA13 (2012) and the Istanbul Biennial (2015). 

The exhibition does not begin and end at the entrance but is scattered throughout the museum: along the permanent collection, across roofs and thresholds, and even into the surrounding streets. Gormley's body sculptures become part of the building and interact with the architecture, the collection and the visitors. The title Geestgrond (spirit ground) refers to fertile soil from the Ice Age, but also has a symbolic layer: spirit is the soul, ground is the earth or origin. Together, they suggest how the body rises from its roots and how time and presence are intertwined. The result is a singular solo exhibition that invites visitors to discover both the core of Gormley's work and the layered nature of the museum in a unique encounter with art, space and time

05.06.2026 -20.09.2026 (print room)

Bert De Leeuw (1926 - 2007) was born in the Antwerp Zuid district a hundred years ago. This coming summer, the KMSKA will honour this versatile artist with an evocative exhibition tracing De Leeuw's artistic evolution. It takes visitors from his matter paintings with primal forms to monumental sculptures and spatial installations that evoke life, death and wonderment. In the museum garden, his play with numbers and structures comes to life in the bronze modules. The exhibition culminates in his late work Similaun 3000. Get carried away by the wide-ranging oeuvre of this self-taught artist and discover his fascination with the origin and finiteness of life within a cosmic whole. With scenography designed by his son Hendrik De Leeuw, the exhibition promises to be a very special experience.

03.10.2026 - 17.01.2027

Autumn will start with a temporary solo exhibition by the internationally renowned Belgian artist Philip Aguirre y Otegui (born 1961). His attention to social nuances and his belief in the universal power of art are recurring themes throughout his oeuvre. Or rather, for him, the search for beauty is like bread and water, a necessity of life. His work expresses the hope that beauty can contribute to reducing social inequality. 

For the KMSKA, Aguirre explores the tension between inside and outside, security and uncertainty. He does this using a wide variety of materials, from bronze to recycled oil drums. The exhibition offers visitors an overview of his work since the 1980s and focuses radically on monumental sculptures that enter into dialogue with more delicate works on paper and small sculptures. In this way, the artist plays a contrarian but topical game with the museum as an aesthetic refuge in a troubled world.

16.10.2026 - 17.01.2027 (print room)

From October onwards, the print room will focus on the work of Guy Vandenbranden (1926 – 2014). Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in the extensive evolution of this Belgian constructivist. His early transition from figuration to abstraction, inspired by Klee, Mondrian and Vasarely, will be outlined. In addition, his powerful monochrome canvases and sculptures will be on display, as well as his later, more colourful experiments with lacquer paint. 

The exhibition not only highlights Vandenbranden's artistic innovation, but also shows his close ties with international avant-garde groups such as Art Abstrait, Formes and the Zero movement. His friendships with Jef Verheyen, Lucio Fontana, Piero Manzoni and Francois Morellet, among others, were decisive for his oeuvre and position him within a rich international network.

31.10.2026 - 18.04.2027

The KMSKA will conclude 2026 with an extensive tribute to Ossip Zadkine (1888–1967). The world-famous sculptor had an exceptional connection with Belgium, and Antwerp in particular. His Belgian network of gallery owners, art critics, collectors and artist friends provided a springboard to his international career and fame. This exhibition highlights these Belgian connections through Zadkine's multifaceted work. Visitors can also explore the work of his wife Valentine Prax, as well as artists from the Parisian avant-garde such as Modigliani, Chagall and Lipchitz, as well as the leading Flemish Expressionists. The KMSKA owns nine of his works, including the expressive The Misery of Job, which Zadkine himself donated to the museum.