Art Brussels

(25 Apr 2014 - 27 Apr 2014)

http://www.artbrussels.com/

Art Brussels
Brussels
Belgium

INTRODUCTION
The 32nd edition of Art Brussels, – within a continuing spirit of creative and artistic renewal - features several new initiatives. For the 10th consecutive year, the fair could again count on the support of ING as main sponsor. After consistently building up its reputation over the years and following on the success of Art Brussels 2013, the fair now confidently occupies a position among the top five international art fairs, while maintaining its unique features and welcoming convivial atmosphere.
As their proliferation seems to testify, art fairs continue to provide important economic, networking, and exhibition opportunities for artists; whilst for collectors and the public they remain unique platforms where one has the opportunity to see many artists and artworks under one roof, something that would not be possible in other circumstances.

ART BRUSSELS DIRECTORSHIP: TWO WOMEN AT THE HELM
A new addition to the Art Brussels team is Anne Vierstraete, who assumed the role of Business Director in August last year. Anne comes to Art Brussels with an impressive track record and wide range of professional experience in her eighteen years as Head of Marketing & Communication at Bank Degroof and eight years as the director of the Erasmus Fund for medical research.
Internationally recognised curator Katerina Gregos (who recently curated both the Göteborg International Biennial in Sweden and the annual exhibition of the Steirischer Herbst Festival in Graz, Austria) will continue in her role as Artistic Director, which includes developing the artistic profile and strategy of the fair as well as the production of artistic content, participating in the gallery selection processes, and programming all the artistic projects and discursive events. Art Brussels 2014 will thus be piloted by a close-knit and complementary duo.

BRUSSELS: EUROPE’S RISING ART CITY
It is no longer a secret that Brussels is, in the last years, experiencing a creative renaissance in all fields of culture, and especially the visual arts. The city continues to attract international attention and more newcomers in terms of artists, galleries and curators. This, in addition to the committed cultural institutions that already exist, is solidifying Brussels’ reputation as one of Europe’s most interesting and promising contemporary art cities, which is quietly stealing the limelight from other established cultural metropoles. Brussels offers easy access (under 2 hours by train) from other neighbouring major European cities, the promise of multiple cultural discoveries, an increasing number of new artistic initiatives in the city, and an excellent culinary culture. The strong collector’s base in Belgium (Belgian as well as international) further reinforces the position of Art Brussels as one of the major, not-to-be-missed cultural events in Western Europe and one of the flagship events in Europe’s capital.

PARTICIPATING GALLERIES & SECTIONS
SECTIONS: PRIME, YOUNG, FIRST, SOLO, CURATOR’S VIEW (new)
Apart from the renewal of each edition, Art Brussels continues to maintain its profile as a fair that brings together emerging artists and galleries (the YOUNG section) with more established ones (the PRIME section), thus offering the best of both worlds: an established market combined with a youthful appeal. 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.

Indicatively, this year the FIRST section, which includes young and upcoming galleries that have never shown at
the fair before, will be enlarged after a record number of applications. FIRST, which is supported by Swatch, the
Swiss watchmaker, is a unique section at Art Brussels as it is upon invitation only. It is scouted and selected by a
committee of curators including:

Daria De Beauvais, Curator, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Chris Fitzpatrick, Director, Objectif Exhibitions, Antwerp
Nathalie Hartjes, Artistic director Nieuwe Vide, Haarlem, and Coordinator of the Gallerist Programme at
de Appel arts centre, Amsterdam
Johan Holten, Director, Kunsthalle Baden-Baden
Katerina Gregos, Curator, Artistic Director, Art Brussels.

In addition to FIRST, 75 galleries will be exhibiting in the YOUNG section, meaning that almost half of the fair is dedicated to emerging and younger generation artists. Katerina Gregos selects the best booth in YOUNG25m2. The winning Gallery will be rewarded with the Karen Renders Award.This year, more emphasis will also be placed on individual presentations of artists, in the SOLO section, providing the opportunity to see the work of an artist (whether established or young) more in-depth, and allowing for larger scale projects. Art Brussels is partnering, for the second time with Pirelli, for the Pirelli Prize, which will be awarded to the best SOLO presentation. The galleries in the SOLO section are pre-selected by Katerina Gregos, and the prize is selected by the members of the Art Brussels Collector’s Committee. The SOLO shows are spread throughout the 2 halls of the fair.
Finally, a new section has been added to the fair this year entitled CURATOR’S VIEW. This section brings together a selected number of galleries who bring a curated thematic group exhibition in their stand to the fair. These curatorial proposals can be curated either by an artist, or by a curator, or by the gallery themselves and are selected by Katerina Gregos.