Simone Guillissen-Hoa

CIVA is pleased to present the first monographic exhibition honoring the life, work, and legacy of the Chinese-born Belgian architect Simone Guillissen-Hoa (1916–96). A proponent of modernist architecture, Guillissen-Hoa was one of the first women to establish her own architecture firm in Belgium. Her career and personal life have consistently challenged the limits imposed by social conventions, gender norms, religious dogma and racial prejudices.

Her life spanned the major events of the twentieth century, from the early onset of the Chinese Revolution to the resistance in occupied Belgium and through postwar reconstruction. In the 1950s, she was a member of the Soroptimist Association, a women’s-rights advocacy organization, and in the 1970s, she became involved in the creation of the International Union of Women Architects.

The exhibition both records her architectural projects and, through a wide array of archival materials, presents her reflections on architecture, her battles and more broadly, her professional and private life. By delving into Guillissen-Hoa’s artistic circle, comprised of figures such as Léon Spilliaert, Alfred Roth, Max Bill, Enrico Castellani, Tapta, Henry and Nele van de Velde, the exhibition explores the influences and collaborations that shaped her artistic and intellectual journey.

A newly commissioned film by artists Eva Giolo and Aglaia Konrad is central to the exhibition, showcasing several of Guillissen-Hoa’s buildings and the utilization, adaptation, and translation of modernist forms and concepts.