BRUSSELS.- Art Brussels announced the artistic programming for its 33rd edition, which features 191 galleries from 33 countries, represented in three main sections PRIME, YOUNG and a new section, DISCOVERY. The fair also places emphasis on individual presentation by artists with 30 galleries presenting SOLO projects.
Talking about the fair’s programme, Artistic Director Katerina Gregos says: ‘Artistic programming is what permits an art fair to innovate and is what differentiates one fair from another. Art fairs are an enormous force in terms of audience outreach and for this reason, are an ideal platform for both emerging and experimental art. It is in the details of its artistic programme where Art Brussels truly reveals its identity as fair in which to discover the surprising, the unusual, and the adventurous.’
Replacing the talks programme on THE STAGE this year is ARTISTS’ MUSIC, a must-see daily line-up of live musical performances by contemporary artists and their bands. The newly launched series, organised in collaboration with Brussels-based arts centre Beursschouwburg, is located outdoors on the Zinneke Terrace, that has been specially designed by B-ILD the architects for Art Brussels 2015.
ARTISTS’ MUSIC launched on Friday 24th April with performances by Galerie Nathalie Obadia’s multifaceted artist Joris Van de Moortel; Almine Rech Gallery’s Matthieu Ronsse as front man of the band Ratzinger, and the three-piece band known as Ping Pong Tactics comprising Bert Huyghe, Thomas Huyghe and Dries Dauwe. Each of these acts uses a number of instruments to deliver distinctive sounds which oscillate between order and disarray. Saturday’s programme takes a more minimal approach, featuring Synth Pop performances by female solo act Musique Chienne (video artist Sarah-Louise Barbett) and female-fronted band Bright Entity (singer Ciska Thomas and DJ, Michiel Claus). The day will end with a live set by electronic band Different Fountains consisting of Michael Langeder and Bernardo Risquez, who began their collaboration at the Faculty for Architecture and Urban Design in Caracas. Filled with an array of other-worldly sounds, Sunday’s line-up promises to showcase some of the best underground talent that Antwerp has to offer, featuring performances by instrumental synth-duo Mittland och Leo (multidisciplinary artist Joke Leonare Desmet and multi-instrumentalist Milan Warmoeskerken), and solo act Dennis Tyfus / Vom Grill. A DJ set will also be played during the Finnissage on Monday.
This year THE CINEMA, will be curated by Lorenzo Benedetti, director of de Appel arts centre in Amsterdam. A series of films and shorter duration videos will be screened in a structure that has been specially designed by B-ILD. In what is the most ambitious architectural intervention at Art Brussels to date, B-ILD’s scenography activates the unused potential of the Brussels Expo exhibition halls. Two over-sized staircases overlooking the booths will show a previously undisclosed view of the fairground, leading the visitors up to a higher level where they can discover the grandeur and true scale of the site.
Every year at Art Brussels, the Higher Institute for Fine Arts (HISK) is invited by the fair to conceive a special artistic project for the HISK Café. This year, HISK will present a ‘menu’ offering work by its current twenty-six artists-in-residence. The menu will be distributed to visitors as a catalogue from which to select works by one of the featured artists. When chosen, the work selected will be unveiled and/or presented, creating a unique ‘one-on-one’ situation between the customer and the artist. Works not selected will remain hidden.
For the third year running, Art Brussels will present an exceptional not-for-profit section. Artistic director Katerina Gregos has selected the following six initiatives: c-o-m-p-o-s-i-t-e / Brussels; Artists Club / Coffre Fort, Brussels; Enough Room for Space, Brussels; Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem; The Institute for Human Activities, Amsterdam and RONGWRONG, Amsterdam. Other unique artistic projects include 120 minutes, by artists Frank Koolen and Lieven Segers, and Tables (Tafels), a presentation organised by the Flanders Art Institute and the Mondriaan Fund. Tables (Tafels) consists of 80 art books selected by the renowned Belgian book designer and publisher Luc Derycke together with the curator and art critic Maaike Lauwaert, displayed on a table designed by Hendrik-Jan Hunneman. These projects, as well as the Dutch not-for-profit spaces, are presented within the context of the 20th anniversary of the Flanders-Holland Cultural Alliance.
Each year, Art Brussels selects an artist to produce their creative campaign. Selected this year was Belgian artist Nick Hannes. The artist has produced a photographic series in which he successfully captures the essence of Brussels by documenting the city’s unique characteristics. Another of the fair’s creative initiatives this year is a bag designed by Belgian artist Jacques Lizène, represented by Galerie Nadja Vilenne, that will be available at the fair.
In collaboration with the National Lottery, last year Art Brussels launched a competition for emerging curators. The winner of the competition was given the opportunity to organise an exhibition using works from the National Lottery’s extensive collection. This year, the winning curatorial proposal by Sofie Van Loo La Casa Nova of Fortuna will be on display at the National Lottery booth.
In support of medical research at Hôpital Erasme (ULB Brussels), editions of a specially designed resin sculpture by Philippe Geluck titled The Cat with the Journal will be sold at auction by Christie's at the Fonds Erasme charity dinner on 7 May 2015. Each cat is a unique edition of one, signed by Geluck and customised by artists and designers including Jean Boghossian, Michael Borremans, Gérard Garouste, Philippe Geluck, world-famous designer Karl Lagerfeld, Jean-Luc Moerman, Pierre Soulages, Jeanne Susplugas and Yan Pei-Ming among others. Further information can be found on the website.
In recent years Brussels has been experiencing its own cultural renaissance, most notably in visual art. The city itself continues to attract the attention of new artists, galleries and curators internationally. It is this, along with the array of respected cultural institutions that is reaffirming Brussels’ status as one of Europe’s most interesting and promising contemporary art cities. Brussels is steadily gaining the same critical acclaim as other established cultural metropolises. It offers easy access from neighbouring European cities, an increasing number of new artistic initiatives in the city and excellent culinary, design, music and fashion culture. The strong collector base in Belgium (Belgian and international) further reinforces the position of Art Brussels as one of the major, not-to-be-missed cultural events in Western Europe.
