BRUSSELS.- This summer, Bozar launches Bozar Monumental. The BNP Paribas Fortis series, in the heart of the Centre for Fine Arts of Brussels. Starting this summer, Bozar will commission each year one artist to create a site-specific artwork made especially for the Horta Hall, embracing and challenging the volume, materials and history of this monumental space.


🔥 Don't Miss Out! Shop the most popular books on Amazon right now and join the conversation.


The first edition is in the hands of German artist Michael Beutler (b. 1976), known for his large-scale, playful architectural installations. For this premiere, Beutler has designed an eight-metre-high cylindrical artwork that slowly rotates.

Bozar Monumental breathes new life into the Horta Hall – designed a century ago by Victor Horta – and restores its original function: a monumental space dedicated to sculpture.


🖼️ Value our daily art insights? Consider a gift to ArtDaily! Find us on PayPal or become a patron on Patreon.


Born in 1976 in Oldenburg, Michael Beutler lives and works in Berlin. The internationally renowned German artist inaugurates the first edition of Bozar Monumental. Known for his ingenious large-scale architectural installations, Beutler creates engaging, playful works that spark the imagination. An inventive craftsman, he creates handmade tools that allow him to develop the materials needed for his constructions. These are usually simple, sustainable, locally sourced materials such as cardboard, paper, wood, or bamboo. Beutler’s work is open and constantly evolving, placing as much importance on the process – which is visible rather than hidden behind studio doors – as on the finished object.

A monumental “rotating gate”

For Bozar, Beutler has created a cylindrical structure that floats. It is made from printed wood (the pool and benches), bamboo (the carrying structure) and hand-made laminated steel-band and paper mesh (the skin). Perceived by the artist as a “rotating gate”, it turns with your help around a central axis in a pool of water.

After Pequod (2015, Hamburger Bahnhof), Beutler's installation at Bozar – 8 metres high and 13 metres in diameter – is the largest "rotating gate" the artist has ever created.

Viewers become part of the artwork

The installation invites the public to linger in the Horta Hall and experience the space in a new and lively way. Standing inside this monumental architectural construction, one might imagine the gate functioning as a film camera executing a long tracking shot, or as a giant zoetrope, the animation device that creates the illusion of movement. Seated on the benches, the sensation of movement could also evoke the feeling often experienced inside a train as it departs from a station. With this rotating gate, Beutler unsettles our senses and invites us to navigate the illusion of movement, encouraging a deeper observation of the surrounding volumes and architecture. The natural light changes daily, altering the mood of the space and making each experience unique.

Bozar - including Michael Beutler’s installation - will remain accessible all summer, without interruption.


Artdaily participates in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn commissions by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. When you purchase through our links, we may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These commissions help us continue curating and sharing the art world’s latest news, stories, and resources with our readers.