News & Insights

Since 2012, the General Administration of Culture of the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles has had a booth at Art Brussels. The presence of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation at the fair is meant to contribute to the dissemination of the work of its artists, both nationally and internationally. The winners of the open call for participation in Art Brussels 2020 are artist Valérian Goalec and curator Maud Salembier. They are presenting My, Our, Your, a project that proposes an exploration of proxemics as a process of being with others, through touch, sight, smell or sound. As part of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Valérian Goalec about the project.

At Art Brussels 2020, Amsterdam-based gallery Fons Welters will present a SOLO by Evelyn Taocheng Wang, who recently showed at S.M.A.K. in Ghent. As part of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with the artist and the gallerist about their upcoming presentation at the fair.

This year, in the DISCOVERY section at Art Brussels 2020, discoveries from emerging artists will be presented a new format. Galleries will either present a single artist or an interesting dialogue between two artists. Sapar Contemporary from New York will present a project by Phoebe Boswell, created for Geneva’s new railway station. As part Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Nina Levent, director of Sapar Contemporary, about the gallery and the upcoming presentation in DISCOVERY at Art Brussels 2020.

The REDISCOVERY section at Art Brussels is dedicated to 20th century art. Newcomer M77 from Milan will feature a duo presentation of Maria Lai and Braco Dimitrijević in REDISCOVERY. As part Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Chiara Principe, director of M77 about the work of Maria Lai.

Art Brussels returns for its 38th edition with a strong international line-up and a unique mix of established and emerging talent. One newcomer of note is Night Gallery from Los Angeles, featuring a dual presentation of Grant Levy-Lucero and Rose Marcus in the DISCOVERY section. For Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Davida Nemeroff, the founder of Night Gallery, about her downtown L.A. gallery and her upcoming presentation in DISCOVERY at Art Brussels.

After the successful launch of INVITED last year, Art Brussels decided to again endorse galleries that are championing the evolving art market, as well as a younger generation of international galleries. As part of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Matteo Consonni, the owner of Madragoa, about opening up a gallery in Lisbon and about his upcoming presentation in INVITED at Art Brussels 2020.

SOLO presentations at Art Brussels are individual, ambitious projects dedicated to the work of a single artist. This year, the fair shows its dedication to curated displays with 3O SOLO presentations. At Art Brussels 2020, Knokke-based gallery Patrick De Brock will present a SOLO by the American artist Joel Mesler, who will be holding live portrait sessions at Art Brussels.

WIELS Brussels and TANK Shanghai present Convex/Concave: Belgian Contemporary Art, an exhibition featuring 15 contemporary Belgian artists. As part of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with collector and TANK Shanghai founder Qiao Zhibing and WIELS associate curator Charlotte Friling.

Since her first presentation at Art Brussels in 2013, Belgian artist Nel Aerts has been featured in several presentations at the fair over the years. She is represented by Plus-One Gallery from Antwerp that will participate at Art Brussels 2020.

In 2019, Jason Haam, from Seoul, participated in the PRIME section of Art Brussels, which focuses on mid-career and established artists on an international level. As part of Art Brussels Insights, we spoke with Jason Haam about his participation in the fair and how he looks at Belgium from Korea.

The SOLO presentations at Art Brussels are ambitious, individual projects dedicated to the work of a single artist. At Art Brussels 2019, Antwerp-based Base-Alpha Gallery hosted a SOLO exhibition by Belgian artist Nadia Naveau.

REDISCOVERY is a section dedicated to art from the 20th century and presents living or deceased artists who are underrecognized. The section aims to highlight surprising, unknown and original practices that have not yet entered into the art historical mainstream.

Harlan Levey Projects won the Discovery prize at Art Brussels 2017 with a presentation including works by Emmanuel Van der Auwera. The gallery has presented in 2019 a SOLO of the artist. Emmanuel Van der Auwera currently has solo exhibitions at Botanique and Harlan Levey Projects, and he is included in the show “Open Skies” at WIELS.

The DISCOVERY section at Art Brussels features booths with a one artist show or an interesting dialogue between two artists that are not yet known within the European context, and whose practice constitutes a real ‘discovery’.

On the first Friday in August, the Belgian seaside resort Knokke hosts Nacht Van Het Zoute: beach bars, catwalks and live music in the streets enhance the vibrancy of the city. A series of galleries will also be opening new shows this weekend.

Art Brussels wishes to support the younger scene, and has therefore instigated a prize since 2013, which is awarded yearly during the opening day to the gallery that has made the most original and engaging presentation in the fair in the DISCOVERY section.

The 37th edition of Art Brussels closed a bit more than a month ago, having seen significant sales to local and international collectors.