A concrete canvas for contemporary art
‘Oever’ is Dutch for shore or bank. The concrete kind. This new art gallery is located in the East Bank harbor area of Ostend, the only genuine city by the Belgian coast. Popularly called ‘Bruxelles plage’, it was historically linked to the capital of Belgium. The beau monde of Brussels loved traveling there for a seaside getaway. Today you still feel the faded glory of what once was a rich city. The city is a haven for creatives and even has its own street art festival. A fitting location for a contemporary art gallery with its own in-house coffee shop and store concept.
We decided to flip things around and recreated the typical street artist’s canvas, the concrete jungle, in a minimal, stripped down version inside the gallery. The monochrome gray palette refers to the city’s hero color and roughness. Contrasting smooth and rough city textures are altered. Urban art often functions as cultural commentary, regularly infused with bold shapes and colors, pop-art inspiration and recognisable cartoon characters, combined with a signature streak of sobering humor. Leave it to 5AM to integrate these elements in a subtle yet undeniable way.
The open plan space can be divided in different zones by using a smart freestanding system which offers full flexibility and can easily be assembled or expanded whenever and wherever without the need for tools. Display elements and backgrounds in different sizes and colors can be added accordingly.