{"id":95646,"date":"2025-12-11T07:44:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:44:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/?p=95646"},"modified":"2025-12-11T07:44:58","modified_gmt":"2025-12-11T07:44:58","slug":"st-vincents-the-antwerp-design-space-that-resists-labels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ccmagazine.es\/en\/st-vincents-the-antwerp-design-space-that-resists-labels\/","title":{"rendered":"St. Vincents: The Antwerp design space that resists labels"},"content":{"rendered":"

Founded by Henri Delbarre<\/em> and Geraldine Jackman<\/em>, St. Vincents<\/em> has become a key reference for those seeking a deeper, more conscious connection with contemporary collectible design.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

An intuitive beginning, an organic evolution<\/h6>\n

St. Vincents didn\u2019t emerge from a business plan or commercial ambition. Henri<\/em> and Geraldine<\/em> left behind corporate careers to explore something creative \u2014 not driven by strategy, but by curiosity and the desire to build something meaningful.<\/p>\n

The turning point came when they discovered a forgotten, three-storey building in Antwerp: a derelict print house that slowly transformed, beginning in 2015, into a container for ideas, collaborations, and experimentation. It wasn\u2019t yet a defined project \u2014 but it was alive with intuition.<\/p>\n

\u201cHenri and Geraldine left behind corporate careers to explore something creative.\u201d<\/h2>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the early days, we were sharing all our interests \u2014 design, art, fashion, even a caf\u00e9\u201d<\/em>, they explain. But when the pandemic arrived, it forced a shift in perspective. Social media saturation, the changing face of retail, and a longing for depth prompted a redefinition. St. Vincents<\/em> became a space of focus: by appointment only, slower-paced, with careful attention to every exhibition and relationship.<\/p>\n

A space that transforms and shapes<\/h6>\n

The building itself is not just a backdrop \u2014 it\u2019s a protagonist. What was meant to be a small, plug-and-play venue turned into a place full of history, texture, and complexity. Its scale, light, and layout continue to inform the curatorial process.<\/p>\n

Each floor and corner offers a different mood: a piece may resonate better upstairs, another only in the subdued light of the ground floor. The building invites a form of spatial thinking that goes beyond aesthetic decisions \u2014 it fosters emotional and material dialogue.<\/p>\n

Far from the sterile neutrality of a white cube, St. Vincents<\/em> is a lived-in, textured environment. The walls and floors hold stories; they whisper rather than shout. This atmosphere reshapes how objects are displayed, experienced and remembered.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Design as conversation and process<\/h6>\n

Rather than selecting works based on trends or style, Henri<\/em> and Geraldine<\/em> are drawn to designers with distinct voices, clear visions, and a strong sense of integrity. Provenance and craftsmanship are important, but even more so is the human connection.<\/p>\n

St. Vincents<\/em> deliberately operates on a small scale, allowing for long-term collaborations. \u201cThese days we\u2019ve stopped actively searching\u201d<\/em>, they explain. \u201cThere\u2019s just too much out there. We prefer to go deeper with those we already work with \u2014 to strengthen the bond and invest in the process.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Curation here isn\u2019t transactional. It\u2019s relational, built on trust, conversation, and shared values.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are drawn to designers with distinct voices, clear visions, and a strong sense of integrity.\u201d<\/h2>\n
2025: A year shaped by movement and meaning<\/h6>\n

This past year has brought several defining exhibitions. Collaborations with Goons<\/em>, Nick Valentijn<\/em> and Emily Thurman<\/em> stood out \u2014 with Emily\u2019<\/em>s Paris show, in particular, creating a narrative-led experience that resonated deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe audience responded not just to the pieces, but to the context\u201d<\/em>, they reflect. \u201cThe space and story became part of the work.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Beyond the public-facing exhibitions, the team also took on a series of rewarding interior design projects \u2014 quiet extensions of their philosophy, built around care, texture and intent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The curatorial line wasn\u2019t bound by a theme. Rather, the common thread was movement: each project shifted their perspective in some way, creating a rhythm of change.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What\u2019s coming: expanded jewellery and poetic sustainability<\/h6>\n

Looking to the first half of 2026, two upcoming presentations stand out. The first, “Meet Me in the Middle”<\/em>, is a group show exploring how jewellery practices can influence contemporary design. Not a show about adornment per se, but about the gestures, materials and forms that sit between disciplines. Every artist involved has a connection to jewellery \u2014 through training, practice or inspiration \u2014 but the result is something altogether more expansive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The second is a collaboration with designer and artist Marte-Mei van Haaster<\/em>, whose approach to sustainability has fundamentally reshaped the team\u2019s thinking. Rather than focusing solely on materials or production methods, Marte-Mei<\/em> proposes a relational, collaborative dialogue with nature itself.\u201cWe\u2019ve learned that sustainability isn\u2019t just about sourcing\u201d<\/em>, they say. \u201cIt\u2019s an attitude, a way of making with awareness.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Alongside this, they\u2019re also working on new projects with Marte-Mei<\/em> and preparing their return to PAD Paris<\/em> in April \u2014 a major event for European contemporary design.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A curatorial voice beyond the noise<\/h6>\n

St. Vincents<\/em> stands apart from the cluttered world of fast trends and micro-aesthetics. They don\u2019t chase the new. They don\u2019t follow the calendar. Their curatorial voice is slow, subjective, and committed to quality that endures.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not from the design world\u201d<\/em>, they admit. \u201cEverything we know, we\u2019ve learned by listening, paying attention.\u201d<\/em> This position of attentive observation has become their compass \u2014 allowing each project, no matter how diverse, to find coherence through care, silence and clarity of intent.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

More than a space, a way of being<\/h6>\n

The name St. Vincents<\/em> is a tribute to Geraldine<\/em>\u2019s father \u2014 a man who, though not a saint, spent seven years as a Franciscan monk in South India. \u201cHe embodied a quiet sense of home\u201d<\/em>, they say. That warmth and openness infuse the project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe name St. Vincents is a tribute to Geraldine\u2019s father, a man who spent seven years as a Franciscan monk in South India.\u201d<\/h2>\n

There is no urgency here, no pressure to produce or consume. Instead, there is space: for pause, for wonder, for meeting. St. Vincents<\/em> is not a gallery, not a store, not a showroom \u2014 it\u2019s all of that and more. It\u2019s a fluid place, constantly in motion, where design becomes a way to relate: to objects, to creators, and to the people who come to experience it.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

(*)<\/strong> Photo credits: Portrait of Henri and Geraldine by Katie McCurdy; slider image 1, rollover images 1-3 and 5, vertical images 3, 5, 7, 8, 9 by Eline Willaert; cover image, rollover image 4, vertical images 4 and 6 by Alexander Popelier; vertical image 2 by Kate Devine; slider image 2 by Tijs Vervecken.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founded by Henri Delbarre and Geraldine Jackman, St. Vincents has become a key reference for those seeking a deeper, more conscious connection with contemporary collectible design. An intuitive beginning, an organic evolution St. Vincents didn\u2019t emerge from a business plan or commercial ambition. Henri and Geraldine left behind corporate careers to explore something creative \u2014 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":95588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5957,5915,5911,5902,5901,5900],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-95646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-design-en","category-shops","category-hotspots-en","category-exhibitions","category-artists","category-art-en"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nSt. Vincents: The Antwerp design space that resists labels<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"St. Vincents in Antwerp blends design, art and curation in a unique space housed in a 19th-century printworks.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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