Already soon after Adhemar RYCKAERT (Melsele/BE, 1945) enrolled at the glass department of the Institute for Arts and Crafts (IKA) in Mechelen in 1991, his partner Dr. Guy EMBRECHTS (Schoten/BE, 1954) developed a passion for glass as a material. In 1995, they decided to start building a glass collection. ‘Doorways’ by Steve TOBIN (US) was their first important purchase for the collection.
17 years later, the EMBRECHTS-RYCKAERT collection included about a thousand glass objects from contemporary art to historical design, ethnic jewellery to reverse glass paintings, but also hundreds of souvenirs and curiosa which they found at local flea markets or on their many travels around the world.
This extensive and highly varied collection, which includes literally art and kitsch, was on show in the GlazenHuis and is now incorporated into the municipal glass collection of Lommel.