Emily Hunt: More Magic at Huis van het boek

This autumn from 27 September 2025 till 1 February 2026, National Museum Huis van het boek will present the first solo museum exhibition in Europe of Emily Hunt, entitled “Emily Hunt: More Magic”. Over the past few months, Emily Hunt has delved into the rich collection of Huis van het boek in search of magical books. ‘Of all the things we have invented, the book is the most magical. You can open a book and be immediately transported to another world. Working with the museum’s collection, I have discovered new connections between ancient and contemporary magic. Magic has always been present and I believe that it can help us to look at the world in a different way.” Hunt’s research forms the basis for a new series of enchanting works of art: ceramic sculptures, etchings, portraits, jewellery, murals and marionettes. Emily Hunt dives into the past in search of magic for the future.

Emily Hunt, magic and books

Emily Hunt (1981, Sydney) lives and works in Berlin. Her history as a rare book dealer has informed her encyclopedic practice as an artist. Through drawing, painting, etching and ceramics, Hunt investigates the visual history of magic. The museum has invited her to be the first to do research into magical books in the collection, making this the first exhibition on the subject at Huis van het boek. Many of the books she found date from the Renaissance and Enlightenment, periods of great change and a renewed interest in the mystical, just as in the present day. Hunt let herself be guided by the Italian humanist and translator Marsilio Ficino and 18^th-century Benedictine monk Bernard de Montfaucon, authors whose works can be found in the collection of the museum. Hunt has produced marionettes of both authors. During the opening they will be brought to life during a live performance staged by Hunt together with Dr. Peter Forshaw, professor of Western esotericism at the University of Amsterdam.