ARTBRUSSELS 2007
ARTBRUSSELS: Brussels Expo 20-23 April 2007
artbrussels celebrates its 25th edition
From Friday 20 to Monday 23 April inclusive, the 25th edition of the contemporary art fair artbrussels will take place in the Brussels Expo exhibition centre. A select group of leading galleries from 20 countries will bring work by both established and young, up-and-coming artists. Visitors can look forward to browsing more than 2,000 artworks, offering a fantastic, actual overview of the latest developments in the contemporary art world.
artbrussels may have a youthful image, but it also has 25 years of experience. It first saw the light of day as a modest art fair in 1968. Art Actuel, as it was then called, was a cutting-edge biannual fair with art from leading galleries, brought together at the invitation of the foremost Belgian exhibitors.
By 1997 the foundations of a new future had been laid. After several major changes, including the transformation from a biennale to an annual fair, it grew into an internationally recognised event of some stature. artbrussels is now a top-class player on the international art market. From the start artbrussels has had the profile of a contemporary art fair for established and for young talent. The fair is a favourite of collectors and curators alike, a place for real discoveries. artbrussels can therefore justifiable be described as the contemporary art fair of the moment. The 25 anniversary of artbrussels will not go by unnoticed. For this jubilee edition the fair has been restyled and a number of established or promising Belgian artists ha been invited to create an intervention for the fair.
From Art Actuel to artbrussels
Despite its youthful image, artbrussels can look back at almost forty years of experience. The modest art fair was first organised in Brussels in 1968, under the name Art Actuel. Over the following decades, it grew into a small but highly respected cutting-edge biennial in which a limited number of leading Belgian gallery owners each invited a gallery from abroad. artbrussels has been going under the new name for ten years, the art fair as a whole is marking its 25th edition, and that’s reason enough for some widespread celebration.
History
Albert Baronian (of the Gallery Baronian-Francey) and Jos Van Schap recall how it all began: In 1968 about 15 leading Belgian art galleries put their heads together and decided to set up a small-scale art fair with special attention – even then – for quality. The result was a bilingual association with the resonant name of “Association of Belgian Contemporary Art Galleries”.
The first Belgian contemporary art fair took place in 1968 and 1969 in the Salle Arlequin under the Galerie Louise. About 15 galleries presented their artists, and while the openings attracted some attention, the attendance for the rest of the fair was hardly overwhelming.
In 1972 the fair moved to the Belfort in Bruges, exhibiting for a month. For the fourth edition in 1974 the whole show moved to the Casino in Knokke. In 1976 the fair took over the majestic halls of the Beaux-Arts in Brussels. That edition was launched with a bomb alert which saw the entire Beaux-Arts evacuated during the opening itself. Police combed the exhibition halls but found only a bottle of whisky, hidden behind a skirting-board. In 1980 Albert Baronian suggested the idea of working with guest galleries: each member of the association could bring along a foreign gallery to take part in the fair. At a stroke the number of participants was doubled from 15 to 30. The same year the first “one-man shows” were also organised. Up until then there had been an overwhelmingly family atmosphere about the fair, of friends in the presence of friends. The then RTB made a film about the fair, which all the gallery owners watched together during the fair itself. After closing time they all went to dine together, and the poker evenings became legendary.
Until 1987 the Beaux-Arts proved the perfect host for the fair, organised and run by the members of the association, with each member having a well-defined role. They were not professional fair organisers, but the catalogues were produced, and nevertheless some 7.000 visitors found their way to the Palais des Beaux- Arts.
In 1989 the Fair moved to Heysel and was given – as a one-off – a new name: “Selective Brussels Art Fair”. The name was changed in 1991 to “Modern Art Market”.
The meeting between Albert Baronian and Eric Everard was to be crucial for the future of the art fair. The association was disbanded in 1997 and the art fair became the property of Eric Everard. artbrussels, Contemporary Art Fair was born. Artworks were acquired with the proceeds of the takeover, and donated to Laurent Busine for the MAC’s, Museum of Contemporary Art.
artbrussels became an annual fair, from 1998 under the management of Karen Renders. Artexis turned artbrussels into one of the must-sees of contemporary art fairs, with some 340 galleries applying for a spot, while there is barely room for half that many. The number of visitors has risen meanwhile from around
6,000 to over 30,000.
artbrussels is nowadays known worldwide and recognised as a must-see event for anyone interested in the international art world.
A fair tailor-made for the Capital of Europe
While this was going on, Brussels was becoming steadily more of a cosmopolitan and multicultural European capital, as well as a breeding ground and laboratory for contemporary art. That’s also thanks to the unusual number of art collectors and international-level galleries Belgium can boast – an open secret in the art world. Also, many businesses in Belgium have made contemporary art a pillar of their corporate culture. It’s precisely that level of private-sector initiative, as well as the professionalism of gallery owners, collectors and the institutional sector in working together that has helped create the unique character of artbrussels. Above all, Brussels also has a rich spectrum of artistic events to offer, during artbrussels as at other times, not to mention a unique architectural heritage, its own fashion and design scene, a busy nightlife scene and an unsurpassed culinary landscape.
30,000 visitors
With participants from 20 countries, artbrussels more than any other event in Belgium has grown into the happening for bringing together not only the national but also the international art world. The last edition attracted a record 30,000 artlovers, each of them spending an average of six hours at the Fair. There is also the VIP programme for around 600 major domestic and foreign collectors and professionals, as well as about 750 Belgian and foreign journalists and critics.
One of the most important contemporary art fairs in Europe
artbrussels has from the very beginning adopted the profile of a radical contemporary art fair, with an eye not only for established names but also for new, young, upcoming and often unknown talent, grouped together in the First Call and Young Talent zones. These, together with the Solo Shows, ensure the fair’s innovative image. The event is also beloved of the international art collector and curator, because it is still possible for real discoveries to be made here. More generally, as far as blue-chip stocks are concerned, artbrussels can take the title of most important contemporary art fair in Europe – a reputation it owes to the exceptionally high quality standards applying to the selection of participants.
A festive birthday programme
artbrussels will again this year take place in Halls 11 and 12 of Brussels Expo. A well-structured architectural plan will ensure a pleasant time for visitors. The fact that artbrussels is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year has been an excuse for a restyling, giving the fair a whole new look thanks to new 3.5 meter walls in stead of the 3 meter walls of the past. In addition, the usual programme of events at and around the fair, together with a number of special projects will help stress the festive jubilee nature of artbrussels.
Five artists create an artwork for the Fair
With this 25th edition, artbrussels would like to draw attention to the enormous number of internationally known artists Belgium has to offer. To keep the festive feel of this edition going, Hans Op de Beeck has been invited to show his video All Together Now. Jan De Cock achieves his long-held ambition to create a work for the fair and will build the installation entitled Denkmal 1 artbrussels, Belgiëplein 1, Brussel, 2007 which will serve as information desk in the entrance to Hall 11. Kris Martin has been invited to design the artbrussels carry-bags. With his conceptual approach Kris has provided a design open to endless interpretations. Ann-Veronica Janssens will on the occasion of the fair convert her recent “mirror ball” design into trim for VIP cars, ensuring a playful presence in the city landscape during the time of the far. Finally, the French Community is inviting Eric Duyckaert, who will represent Belgium in the forthcoming Venice Biennial. He will give a performance during the opening on Thursday 19 April.
A careful selection
The choice of participants is the responsibility of an international selection committee made up of Albert Baronian (Baronian-Francey, Brussels, B) Elena Buchmann (Buchmann Galerie, Berlin-Lugano, D/CH) Helga Conrads (Galerie Conrads, Dusseldorf, D) Jo Coucke (Deweer Art Gallery Otegem, B) Rodolphe Janssen (Galerie Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, B), Nathalie Obadia (Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, F) and Tanya Rumpff (Galerie Tanya Rumpff, Haarlem, NL).
From more than 340 applications, 123 established galleries were selected. The full range of disciplines is on offer: painting, drawing, photography, installations, video art, … . Add to that the quality, innovation and international character of the artists, and the programming of the selected galleries. More or less all the worthwhile contemporary art galleries in Belgium will be present at the fair, together with galleries from 20 other countries.
Young talent and solo shows
The number of participants will be deliberately limited so as to ensure the quality of the works on offer and the smooth running of the fair. To that end, the galleries and artists chosen will be divided up into clearly designated zones.
First Call
For the third time a number of up-and-coming and promising galleries will be encouraged by being given the chance to take part in the fair for the first time in the First Call zone. These galleries, who can only take part on invitation, were chosen by the collectors’ committee. They are: Jacqueline d’Amécourt (Groupe Lhoist), Wilfried Cooreman, Mimi Dusselier, Filiep Libeert, Cédric Liénart de Jeude, Baudouin Michiels (Belgacom Art), Benedikt van der Vorst, Bruno Van Lierde and Mark Vanmoerkerke.
Young Talent
Next comes Young Talent, which brings together a number of galleries who will strengthen the “young” and innovative character of artbrussels. The zone is limited to 38 galleries showing work by a maximum of three to five newcomers.
Solo Shows
Spread throughout the fair are 19 galleries who have been given the opportunity to put on a Solo Show built by one of the artists they represent, in a separate space next to their exhibition stand. The best of these solo shows will be chosen during the fair by the collectors’ committee. Illy caffè will award the winning artist with a 10.000€ cheque.
INFO:
Where:
Hall 11 and 12, Brussels Expo
Place de Belgique 1, 1020 Brussels
Brussels Ring 0, exit 7bis or 8
Route details available on the website
Calendar:
Press presentation: 19 April at 16.00 (press only!)
Vernissage: 19 April, 16.00 to 22.00 (invitation only)
Public days: 20 to 23 April 11.00 to 19.00
Closing: 23 April, 11.00 to 22.00
Ladies’ Day: Friday 20 April, entry free for ladies
Guided tours
Daily, at 15.00 and 17.00. In French and Dutch. Open to all. Free. Details from
the information desk at the entrance to Hall 11
Prices:
One-day ticket €15
Two-day ticket €25
Reduced price €10 (students and groups of more than 10 persons
Catalogue €25
Combi-ticket €35 (entry fee and catalogue)
Info:
www.artbrussels.be
Press information:
Press & Communication
Gerrie Soetaert
+32 (0) 475 47 98 69
gerrie.soetaert@skynet.be
