The work of Philippe Vandenberg is intertwined with twentieth century world history. Responding to the worldwide upheavals of 1989, he for a first time introduces contemporary figures into his work such as Yasser Arafat and Ruhollah Khomeini, as well as dictators from the recent past. Vandenberg records the course of world history like a seismograph; capturing its ruptures greed, pride and violence. In a series of word drawings from 2009, he intentionally mixes up the names and surnames of historical figures. Accordingly, fictional characters arise, such as Margret D’Avila, Samuel Le Hun, Charles Cocteau, Atilla Becket or Dracula Tatcher. With this simple gesture, Vandenberg demonstrates the malleability of history in the hands of future generations. In his telling Babylonian confusion of tongues politicians become saints, writers are given the surname of emperors or vampires become prime ministers.​

Philippe Vandenberg’s (1952-2009) drawings and paintings strongly denounce humanity. They are moving, provocative and force us to reflect. The central theme is man’s struggle with himself and others, observed through the lens of cultural, political and social history. In Vandenberg’s art, this struggle is often critical, sometimes compassionate, but always imagined in rich colour and with a pinch of humour. ​

Since the founding of the Philippe Vandenberg Foundation in 2009, his work has been discovered across the globe. His art has been shown in solo exhibitions in Hamburg, New York, Paris, London and Seoul among others. In 2020, the first institutional exhibition in Belgium on Vandenberg since his death was held in BOZAR under the name Philippe Vandenberg. Molenbeek.​

 In The Philippe Vandenberg Foundation generously keeps the legacy of Philippe Vandenberg mobile. The Foundation operates on national and international levels and has three objectives: to manage the artist’s estate and studio, to facilitate research into his oeuvre and to make his work more accessible in dialogue with artists, researchers, curators and the public. Around the year, they offer visits to his studio in Molenbeek. ​