25–27 April 2014
Preview & Vernissage: 24 April (by invitation only)
Brussels Expo – Halls 1 & 3
Place de Belgique, 1
BE-1020 Brussels
Hours: noon–8pm
www.artbrussels.com
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The 32nd edition of Art Brussels is approaching soon. Featuring 190 international galleries from 27 countries, Art Brussels continues to maintain its profile as a fair that brings together emerging artists and galleries with more established ones. At the same time it continues to reinforce and build upon its identity as a ‘discovery fair’ and the place where one can identify artists at the beginning of their careers. Art Brussels is also proud to feature a rich artistic and discursive programme within the fair, conceived by the artistic director, Katerina Gregos.
Talks and debates on THE STAGE
THE STAGE, a special structure (designed by Tom Mares & Walt Van Beek) will, once again, feature an extensive programme of discursive activities (debates, talks, encounters with artists) following the success of last year’s programme. THE STAGE is the place where people gather in order to listen to the ideas that currently matter. Among the highlights are “The School of Awareness,” which puts the spotlight on the work of individual artists in order to explore their practice in greater depth. Artists who will present their work include, among others: Judith Braun, New York; Rodrigo Bueno, São Paulo; Diango Hernández, Dusseldorf; Nikita Kadan, Kiev; Goran Petercol, Zagreb; David Brian Smith, London; Ante Timmermans, Gent/Zurich; Nil Yalter, Paris. THE STAGE will also host a three-part seminar on “The Role of the Gallery, Beyond Commerce: Towards a New Paradigm of Appreciation”; co-organised with De Appel Arts Centre, Amsterdam; three panels on collecting: “How do we Collect?,” “Acquiring Film & Video: What/How Do We Own?,” and “The Collector as Producer”; as well as a series of lectures on the subject of “Artistic Production in the moment of Cognitive Capitalism” featuring presentations by key thinkers such as Franco ‘Bifo’ Berardi (Bologna), Stefan Heidenrieich (Berlin), and John Roberts (Wolverhampton), among others.
Over 50 international artists, curators, gallerists, collectors, academics, and thinkers will participate on THE STAGE, including, among others: Brigitte Bloksma head of Van Eyck Mirror at Jan van Eyck Academie, Maastricht & artistic director at iArts, Zuyd University, Maastricht; Lieven De Cauter, professor of philosophy of culture in the Department of Architecture of Leuven University; JJ Charlesworth, art critic and associate editor at ArtReview, London; Eric Corijn, professor of Social and Cultural Geography at the Free University, Brussels; Benjamin Cook, founder / director, LUX, London; Silvia Dauder, director, ProjecteSD, Barcelona; Joost Declercq, director, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Deurle; Elizabeth Dee, director, Elizabeth Dee Gallery & co-founder, Independent, New York; Ann Demeester, director, Frans Hal Museum / De Hallen, Haarlem; Dr. Brigitte Franzen, director, Ludwig Forum Aachen; Martin Germann, senior curator, S.M.A.K., Ghent; Victor Gisler, director, Mai 36, Zurich; Melanie Gilligan, artist and writer, New York/ London; Andrea Lissoni, film and international art curator, Tate Modern, London; Anna Manubens, curator, Auguste Orts, Brussels; Edi Muka, curator, Public Art Agency Sweden, Stockholm; Sandra Mulliez, founder / director, SAM Art Projects, Paris; Warren Neidich, artist and writer, Berlin / Los Angeles; Beatrix Ruf, director and chief curator, Kunsthalle Zurich; Anna Tilroe, art critic and curator, Amsterdam; Christine Vendredi-Auzanneau, Head, Art and Culture, Louis Vuitton, Paris; Erno Vroonen, independent curator and curatorial adviser, Munich; and Jonas Žakaitis, curator, editor and writer, Vilnius.
Film & video at Art Brussels
THE CINEMA is a special structure (designed by Tom Mares & Walt Van Beek) with comfortable cinema seating where one can view shorter duration artists’ videos and films, on two screens, in an appropriate setting. Two screening programmes run in a continuous loop. One is based on gallery submissions selected by the artistic director of Art Brussels, Katerina Gregos. The artists featured THE CINEMA this year are: Ivan Argote (b. 1981, CO), Johanna Billing (b. 1973, SE), Tilo Baumgärtel (b. 1972, DE), Jasmina Cibic (b. 1979, SI), Sam Curtis (b. 1981, UK), Dina Danish (b. 1981, FR), Mikhail Karikis (b. 1975, GR), Angela Marzullo (b. 1971, CH), and Amir Yatziv (b. 1972, IL). The second programme is shown in collaboration with the Brussels institution Argos – Centre for Art & Media, and features work from their collection. Check the website for the full programme: www.artbrussels.com
A special exhibition
This year’s flagship artistic project is titled Portrait of the Collector as a Work of Art: An Intimate Journey, and will bring together highlights from the collections of the Art Brussels’ Collectors Committee, comprised of some of the most foremost Belgian collectors. The latter are internationally known for their passion, dedication, knowledge, and expertise and for discovering and acquiring artists at a very early stage in their careers. Each collector has been invited to choose a work of art that they feel best expresses their personality and their individual artistic preferences, thus engaging in a kind of self-portraiture through art works. The exhibition is a subtle way to examine the personal and subjective elements that largely determine the practice of collecting and will also highlight the works of specific artists. This unique project would not be possible without the generous partnership of Louis Vuitton, and the additional support of Anglo Belge Special Risks, who are Art Brussels’ exclusive partners in this unique endeavor.
Diverse artistic projects
Among the many new things at Art Brussels this year one will find newly designed exhibitions halls and spaces, designed by ONO Architectuur; an exciting programme of talks, debates, and encounters with artists that will take place on THE STAGE, the discursive heart of the fair; THE CINEMA, a specially designed structure featuring artists’ short videos and films; presentations of the most exciting not-for-profit spaces in Belgium (CIAP, Hasselt; Hotel Charleroi, Charleroi; KIOSK, Ghent; LLS 337, Antwerp; NICC, Brussels; Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp); a special exhibition titled Missed Chances based on a competition for young curators launched by Art Brussels and the National Lottery, curated by the winning curators Laura Hermann and Louise Osieka, in collaboration with the artist Gerard Herman, in the stand of the National Lottery; and finally the HISK Café, a special fixture at Art Brussels, which doubles up as a bar and a special surprise artistic project conceived by the 23 resident artists at the HISK – the Higher Institute of Fine Arts, in Ghent.