Inherent to the statuette are the notions of ‘scale’ and ‘version’: small-scale sculptures often refers to larger works, offering a manageable and portable version to place on the mantelpiece at home, or presenting alternative variants, versions, or multiples within a series of the same work. Most importantly, many statuettes and small-scale sculptures made it possible to integrate art into the interior. In the fin de siècle and especially during the interwar period, this decorative function led to the production of high-quality ornamental and functional statuettes by renowned sculptors. Mu.ZEE’s collection includes an outstanding core group of Art Deco statuettes by artists such as Oscar Jespers, Oscar De Clerck, and Jozef Cantré, as well as – of course – the sculptural works of Constant Permeke. This decorative and integrated function of small sculpture continues to find expression in contemporary art galleries. 

Ultimately, the scale of statuettes makes them easy to carry and handle. Owners and consumers are thus afforded the rare opportunity to hold and move these artworks, experiencing directly the tactility of their surfaces and materials. This exhibition also explores this literal – and sometimes figurative – sensual quality of small-scale sculpture. 

Featuring some 100 sculptures, paintings and works on paper, Mu.ZEE guides visitors to the Venetian Galleries through a century and a half of small-scale sculpture in Belgium, from Marthe Donas, Oscar Jespers and Yvonne Serruys to Aline Bouvy and Dodi Espinosa.

Mu.ZEE also aims to give small sculptures found in today’s living rooms a central place within the salon of the Venetian Galleries.?Related stories are captured and shared with visitors. This participatory project underlines the exhibition’s subtitle: Small Sculpture at Home. 
Location:?Venetian Galleries 
Corner of Zeedijk / Parijsstraat -?Ostend