Ann Veronica Janssens Ostende, 2025

Ostende by Ann Veronika Janssens comprises two layers: the front side of the panel is hammered glass, fixed onto a layer of glass originally produced for an iconic architectural project from the 1970s in Brussels.

As one moves around the work, each hammered section of the glass reflects the light at different angles, creating variant shapes. This second glass is distinguished by its warm amber reflective tint, achieved through a special coating developed for architectural use. Surprisingly, even without the intervention of a dichroic filter, the combination of these two glass types generates luminous gradations that shift with the light, transforming the work’s appearance depending on the surrounding conditions.

The rear glass panel was produced for the occasion of the restoration of Immeuble GBR, a large office building constructed between 1967 and 1970 by architects Constantin Brodski and Marcel Lambrichs in Belgium. A major example of the functionalist architecture of those years, in 1980 it was included by New York's MoMA in its list of 200 iconic buildings of modern architecture between 1960 and 1980.