ART BRUSSELS: RESOLUTELY CONTEMPORARY
The 37th edition of Art Brussels presents 157 participants, among which are 148 selected galleries representing 32 countries. With works from recently emerging to internationally established artists, Art Brussels remains resolutely contemporary. Among the 800 artists represented, over 90% are alive of which nearly a third are under 40 years old.
This year’s PRIME section welcomes back returning blue-chip galleries including Blainǀ Southern (London, Berlin) whose booth will include works by Sean Scully, Bill Viola, Yinka Shonibare, Mat Collishaw and François Morellet; Krinzinger (Vienna), who will bring new work by Hans Op de Beeck; Tim Van Laere Gallery (Antwerp), presenting artists including Armen Eloyan and Franz West; Almine Rech (Paris, Brussels, London, New York) whose two-part booth will feature works by Jan-Ole Schiemann on one side and a group show including Valentine De Wain on the other; Galerie Lelong & Co (Paris), presenting artists including David Hockney, Edel Atnan and Kiki Smith; Xavier Hufkens (Brussels) who will present works by American abstract painter Lesley Vance; New Art Centre (Salisbury), showing works by Barbara Hepworth and Henry Moore, as well as dépendance (Brussels) who will present among others Haegue Yang and Jos de Gruyter and Harald Thys,and Zeno X (Antwerp) showing Mark Manders and Mircea Suciu.
223 (aka Lin Zhipeng) Untitleda 2018
Art Brussels launches a new section, INVITED, which focuses on nine galleries, many of which are challenging the traditional gallery model and dedicated to emerging artists. This section includes Ballon Rouge Collective, a nomadic gallery, which has had exhibitions in Istanbul, London, Los Angeles, Sao Paulo, Paris, New York and currently in Brussels, whose booth will present works by Merve Iseri and Philip Janssens; Weiss Falk(Basel), who will bring a show dedicated to works by Laura Langer and Freedman Fitzpatrick(Los Angeles, Paris) whose group show will include Mathis Altmann, Diamond Stingily and Matthew Lutz-Kinoy among others.
The SOLO section continues to provide a stand-alone showcase for both established and emerging artists. This year’s jury for the SOLO Prize includes Iwona Blazwick, Chris Dercon, Vanessa Joan Müller, Raf Simons and Monika Szewczyk. Projects include immersive video-sculpture installations by Emmanuel Van der Auwera with Harlan Levey Projects (Brussels); a site specific installation combining the mechanical and the natural by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané presented by Mendes Wood DM (Sao Paulo, Brussels, New York); Kayode Ojo looks at luxury lifestyle versus reality with Martos Gallery (New York); Vietnamese artist Bùi Công Khánh’s monumental porcelain works with 10 Chancery Lane (Hong Kong); Marcel Berlanger investigating the relationship between photography and painting with Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels), and Japanese African American artist Alex Gardner with The Hole (New York).
Diet Sayler Malstück 5 1992
Art Brussels’ DISCOVERY section continues to present galleries at the forefront of emerging international artists. The jury panel for this year’s Discovery prize welcomes Tessa Giblin, Hans Ulrich Obrist and Hélène Vandenberghe. This year’s DISCOVERY section includes Tyburn Gallery (London), presenting new works by Zimbabwean artist Kudzanai-Violet Hwami; Richard Heller (Santa Monica) presenting Christian Rex van Minnen’s graphic figurative paintings; Parisa Kind (Frankfurt) showing never-before-seen works by Hannes Michanek; Pact (Paris) presenting paintings related to the digital world by Emily Ludwig Shaffer and The Ryder Projects (London) presents sculptures made from chairs found on the streets of Barcelona by Jaime Pitarch.
This year’s REDISCOVERY section will include highlights such as acb Gallery(Budapest) and their presentation of works by Imre Bak, a key figure of the Hungarian neo-avantgarde and one of the most important Eastern European representatives of geometric abstraction; Eric Dupont (Paris) with works by the Argentinean Carlos Kusnir, based in Marseille, who questions the boundaries of painting, Axel Vervoordt (Wijnegem, Hong Kong) with works by Tsuyoshi Maekawa and Georg Karl Pfahler, a leader of the geometric abstract style alongside Frank Stella, Ellsworth Kelly and Kenneth Noland at QG Gallery’s booth (Brussels).
Imre Bak Title: Triangle-Cross 1979
Further stand-out booths include Maruani Mercier (Brussels, Knokke),presenting Jaclyn Conley’s The Oval Office, a series of paintings analysing and reimagining the ‘American ideal’; o v project (Brussels) who will bring together collages and assemblages exploring many great Dadaists; Galerie Antoine Laurentin (Paris),presenting a curated booth on the revival of wood sculptures in Belgium from 1945- 1970; Sofie Van de Velde (Antwerp) will confront the stark contrast between figurative and abstraction, and Sorry we’re Closed (Brussels) where Christoph Ruckhäberle will cover the entire floor of the booth with a piece.
SCREEN IT
In collaboration with the Belgian Triennial Stadstriennale Hasselt-Genk (October 2019 – January 2020), SCREEN IT features 17 artists selected by curator Pieter Jan Valgaeren, whose works explore the impact of screen culture on the arts and society. Participating artists include Daniel Arsham by Galerie Ron Mandos (Amsterdam), Constant Dullaart by Upstream (Amsterdam), Mounir Fatmi by Ceysson & Bénétière (St. Etienne, Paris, Luxembourg, New York), Sam Samore presented by rodolphe janssen (Brussels), Emmanuel Van der Auwera presented by Harlan Levey Projects (Brussels), Ariane Loze presented by Michel Rein (Paris), Jonas Lund presented by The Ryder Projects (London)and Laure Prouvost presented by Nathalie Obadia (Paris, Brussels), among others.
Georg Karl Pfahler, Dreitex II 1964
ArtBeats at The Belfius Lounge
For the third year in a row, Art Brussels proudly welcomes Belfius Wealth Management as the main partner of the fair. With a collection of more than 4,300 works, Belfius holds the largest private collection of Belgian art which spans five centuries and still continues to grow through the acquisition of contemporary art works by Belgian artists. This year’s exhibition, entitled ArtBeats, will showcase a selection of 30 major works chosen by Belgian cultural personalities, providing a very personal insight into their passion for art.
Imgard Speckat the Stibbe Lounge
In 2019, Jos de Gruyter & Harald Thys will represent Belgium at the 58th International Venice Biennale, with the exhibition Mondo Cane curated by Anne-Claire Schmitz. This year’s Stibbe Lounge features the exhibition Irmgard Speck, by the duo De Gruyter and Thys. It will present a series of sculptures of 3D-printed heads, which are made from plaster, fake hair and paint and present the faces of notable figures such as politicians, dictators, celebrities and criminals.
