BRUSSELS.- Bozar presents a major solo exhibition of Berlinde De Bruyckere (Ghent, 1964). Khorós is the very first large-scale exhibition of her work in Brussels. In Khorós, De Bruyckere shows a selection of her work from the past 25 years in dialogue with both historical and contemporary artists, ranging from Lucas Cranach and Pier Paolo Pasolini to Patti Smith.

For Bozar, De Bruyckere has conceived a poetic and powerful exhibition tailored to the historic Art Deco halls designed by architect Victor Horta. Spanning 1,000m2, the exhibition features monumental sculptures and installations as well as smaller works on paper, including both older and brand new creations. Photographs, video and audio fragments, and ritual objects also interact with her work.

In De Bruyckere’s oeuvre, humanity and the human condition take centre-stage. Her evocative visual language often conveys a fragile duality: suffering and love, sorrow and solace, life and death.

“It is the ever-recurring horror and beauty that we, as humans, do not fully understand, but of which we are nevertheless a part," says De Bruyckere. “My work is always a reflection of how I look at and question the world as a person and as an artist. This is also what appeals to me in Pasolini's work: everything we see is lived through, immortal and vibrates with the turmoil of the political, the erotic and the existential.”

De Bruyckere draws from a wide range of inspirations: religious iconography, classical mythology, the works of the Old Masters, and different cultural traditions. She brings these pillars of her visual language into a contemporary context—reflecting the violence that surrounds us, the images of human suffering on a global scale, but also beauty, solace, and transformation.

Khorós

In Khorós, Berlinde De Bruyckere engages in dialogue with kindred artists – her compagnons de route, as she calls them. The Greek Khorós (χορός) refers to the group of singers/dancers in Greek tragedies who comment on what is happening on-stage. The exhibition is thus conceived as an interplay of voices, shared themes and dialogues.

"Working in dialogue is what I love most," the artist admits. "Engaging with people, sensitive to what is going on around me. Rather than a ‘retrospective’, I found it compelling, at Bozar’s request, to reflect on past dialogues and the figures who have inspired me. My works—and their layers of meaning—are read differently in this context."

The dialogues in Khorós, much like De Bruyckere’s oeuvre itself, build bridges in time and space: from Greek mythology and Biblical scenes, via the cinema of Pier Paolo Pasolini, to the literary work of iconic musician and poet Patti Smith, or contemporary visual art, including by her partner, the artist Peter Buggenhout. Hindu ceremonial objects such as the Lingam and Yoni also engage in dialogue with De Bruyckere’s work, highlighting the explicitly erotic and sexually charged nature of some of her creations.

Alongside iconic works such as the horse (Lost I, 2006), the foal (Lost V, 2021–2022), and the monumental tree (San Sebastian, 2019-2022)—as well as pieces from the Venice Biennale (Arcangelo, City of Refuge, and Need-series) being shown in Brussels for the first time—Khorós also sheds light on lesser-known aspects of De Bruyckere’s practice. Recent creations, including her linoleum works (Plunder I, 2024-2025) and collages (It almost seemed a lily, 2024), have been specially produced for the Bozar exhibition.

Eros and Thanatos

Her corporeal, visceral sculptures dialogue with other art disciplines: painting, films, literature, video, dance.... In this cyclical exhibition, everything is intertwined, united by a recurring focus on the body in all its manifestations: its lust for life and its decline, in its eternal metamorphosis.

Weathered blankets, animal skins, trees, flowers, rusted metal, headless bodies—each form and material in De Bruyckere’s work is meticulously chosen for its metaphorical power. Moreover, she never works with new materials; the revaluation of what appears worthless or worn is fundamental to her artistic vision.

De Bruyckere: “My works compel you to look at something you might not want to see. I want to touch people where they are afraid to be touched, to address things they have no words for—yet there are always mitigating circumstances. I do not shy away from the wound; suffering, decay, death, loneliness—as much as they are part of life, they are part of my work. But the same goes for tenderness, connection, vitality, and desire. Eros and Thanatos, always side by side.”

In Khorós, highly intimate and fragile works contrast with monumental and raw installations. Yet each piece embodies a poetic vulnerability, inviting visitors to slow down and to reflect.

The exhibition is the first in the Conversation Pieces series, a new concept in which Bozar invites an artist to engage their own oeuvre in dialogue with the work of other artists.

Accompanying the exhibition is the publication Berlinde De Bruyckere. Khorós, published by Bozar Books & Mercatorfonds, featuring texts by, among others, Gary Carrion-Murayari.

The visitor guide—also accessible digitally via the Bloomberg Connects app—provides a narrative context for the works. Bozar is the first institution in Belgium to launch this app. In April, a free podcast based on conversations with the artist will also be released.

The exhibition is complemented by a cross-disciplinary programme featuring lectures and debates, the All over the P(a)lace nocturne, guided tours, film screenings (in the newly opened cinema room The 23), and a performance.

Berlinde De Bruyckere has become one of Belgium’s most influential artists, with her work gaining recognition far beyond national borders. In 2024, she received international acclaim for her exhibition City of Refuge III at the Abbazia di San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice and for her participation in the Ruhrtriennale with City of Refuge IV. In Belgium, she engaged in dialogue with Rodin in the exhibition Rodin. Une Renaissance moderne at BAM in Mons.

In 1989, she was awarded the Jeune Peinture belge (Belgian Art Prize). She participated in the Venice Biennale in 1999, marking her international breakthrough, and in 2013, she represented Belgium at the Biennale with the monumental installation Kreupelhout-Cripplewood, in collaboration with John Maxwell Coetzee. Her work has been exhibited in institutions such as MO.CO. (Montpellier), MAC/CCB – Museum of Contemporary Art in Lisbon, Bonnefanten Museum in Maastricht, Kunsthal Aarhus, the National Gallery of Iceland, the Leopold Museum in Vienna, ACCA – Australian Centre for Contemporary Art in Melbourne, Kunstmuseum Bern, and Arter in Istanbul, among others. In Belgium, her exhibitions have included the Middelheim Museum (1995, 2020), S.M.A.K. in Ghent (2014), and the Museum Hof van Busleyden in Mechelen (2018).

In 2015, De Bruyckere was awarded an honorary doctorate by Ghent University, and in 2021, she was named a Commander of the Order of the Crown.

Several of De Bruyckere’s works have previously been displayed in Bozar’s halls. The Swiss curator Harald Szeemann included new pieces by her in Visionary Belgium. C’est arrivé près de chez nous (2005). In Venetian and Flemish Masters (2011), De Bruyckere entered into dialogue with paintings by Giovanni Bellini through Pietà and Lingam. This would serve as a prelude to Khorós (2025), De Bruyckere’s first solo exhibition in Brussels.