Summer Guide: Exhibitions

Painting, sculpture, cartoons, history, cartography... the list of exhibitions taking place each summer in Belgium is truly phenomenal. Better still, a lot of them take place outdoors - which means that you don't have to be a culture vulture to enjoy going to exhibitions in Belgium in the summer!

 

 

SUMMER OF PHOTOGRAPHY UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16

Bozar and its partners put on this biennale of photography which encompasses dozens of exhibitions in the capital and across Belgium. This year’s theme—landscape—challenges both artists and curators to put forward new perspectives on an elemental subject.

Bozar, 23 Rue Ravenstein, www.summerofphotography.be

 

SCIENCE ET CULTURE AU PALAIS ROYAL JULY 24-SEPTEMBER 9

Free expo at the Royal Palace featuring Face to Face, a collection of masks from around the world, and an interactive exhibition on the workings of the brain, presented by Technopolis.

Palais Royal, Place des Palais, www.monarchie.be

 

FOTO KANAL 2012 – ICONS UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16

Open-air exhibition of photography created by local youth, put on by community organizers Platform Kanal and regional development agencies.

Place Sainctelette/Canal Zone, www.platformkanal.be

 

CELEBRATION TABLES UNTIL SEPTEMBER 9

The Belvue museum recreates four celebratory dinner scenes from nineteenth- and twentieth-century Belgian history, illustrating the cultural shift from ostentation toward sober elegance. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a table setting may be worth even more.

Belvue Museum, 7 Place des Palais, www.belvue.be

 

LE QUEBEC, ESPACE ET PATRIMOINES UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2

Landscape photography snapped by Canadian Pierre Lahoud, who documents modern Quebec’s signature blend of wilderness and civilisation.

Halles Saint-Gery, 23 Place Saint Gery, www.hallessaintgery.be

 

ART IS THE ANSWER! UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2

The Boghossian Foundation presents a selection of works by twenty artists, demonstrating the vitality of the art scene which characterises modern-day Lebanon, from Alfred Tarazi to Zena el Khalil.

Villa Empain, 67 Ave Franklin Roosevelt, www.villaempain.com

 

SPORT & COMPETITION 

The latest addition to the Autoworld museum: a wing dedicated entirely to competition driving. From the start grid to the finish line, discover authentic paddocks, a wall of fame, tons of memorabilia and, of course, many vintage racing cars including a Renault GP 1906.

Autoworld, 11 Parc du Cinquantenaire, www.autoworld.be

 

FRED BERVOETS UNTIL AUG 30

The works of Antwerp painter Fred Bervoets, on display in a unique (if alone for the name) gallery.

Sorry We’re Closed, 65A Rue de la Régence, www.sorrywereclosed.com

 

BAMAKO ENCOUNTERS UNTIL SEPT 16

Ninth edition of the photography biennial. This year’s theme is Pan-African Photography: For A Sustainable World.

Tour & Taxis, 86c Avenue du Port, www.summerofphotography.be

 

HABANA CUBA UNTIL SEPT 16

Portraits of tobacco growers and cigar rollers smoking the end results of their labour, taken by the late Canadian photographer Pascal Rouet in Cuba’s Vuelta Abajo region.

Atelier 340 Muzeum , 340 Drève de Rivieren, www.atelier340muzeum.be

 

UN-SCENE II UNTIL AUG 26

New works by emerging Belgian and Belgium-based artists including Sophie Nys, Harold Ancart, Nel Aerts (see picture above), Gerard Herman and Abel Auer.

Wiels, 354 Ave Van Volxem, www.wiels.org

 

POSY SIMMONDS: ESSENTIALLY ENGLISH UNTIL NOV 25

Original plates by the Guardian illustrator best known for Gemma Bovery and Tamara Drewe, her contemporary reinterpretations of Flaubert and Hardy novels.

Belgian Comic Strip Center, 20 Rue des Sables, www.comicscenter.net

 

LA LIGNE COURBE DU POINT / ÉTOILES SANS LENDEMAIN UNTIL JULY 28

Two series of photographs, of European wall surfaces and Icelandic waterfalls respectively, by Luxembourg-born Brussels artist Laurent Friob.

Galerie J.J. Heckenhauer, 59 Rue de Flandre, www.heckenhauer.net

 

9 POUR LA ROUMANIE MAGIQUE UNTIL SEPT 15

Bucarest’s Constantin Piliuta gallery presents nine of the finest contemporary Romanian artists: Vasile Anghelache, Petrică Bădilă, Marian Condruz, Anton Raţiu, Adina Romanescu, Doru Rotaru, Vasile Sarcă, Valeriu Şuşnea and Constantin Tofan.

Arthis, 33 Rue de Flandre, www.arthis.org

 

UNE SOURCE ROYALE POUR MERCATOR UNTIL JULY 29

Retracing the links between the works of Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator (on the 500th anniversary of his birth) and those of his peer, Christian Sgrooten.

Bibliothèque Royale de Belgique, 2 Blvd de l'Empereur, www.kbr.be

 

PORTRAITS FROM AN ART COLLECTION UNTIL OCT 7

Photographic tribute to Outsider Art by Belgian Gaël Turine, who snapped the artists opposite their works. 

Art & Marges Museum, 312-314 Rue Haute, www.artetmarges.be

 

REGARDS SUR MON QUARTIER UNTIL AUG 31

Candid shots of real urban life in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode, by local budding photographers Byunyamin Berkirov, Valentina Calà, Surreya Cavusoglu, Ali Erkoca, Sümeyra Koca, Yasir Mercan and Oznur Ongec

Walking Madou, Chaussée de Louvain, www.stjosse.irisnet.be

 

NE VOUS FIEZ PAS AUX APPARENCES UNTIL SEPT 21

New works by painter Janot Michiels and sculptor Hilde Van Impe, both from Flemish Brabant.

Galerie Dupuis, 251 Blvd Sylvain Dupuis, www.creditagricole.be

 

VISIONS UNTIL SEPT 30

Three photographers (Stephen L Feldman, Dalia Nosratabadi and Dan Zollmann) with highly disparate styles.

Musée Juif de Belgique, 21 Rue des Minimes, www.mjb-jmb.org

 

  

BEYOND BRUSSELS

 

AH-HA UNTIL NOVEMBER 11

Belgian installation artists Frederic Geurts and Peter Morrens enter into an architectural dialogue with the Chateau de Seneffe. The garden and grounds serve as canvas in this open-air exhibition.

Domaine du Château de Seneffe, Seneffe, www.chateaudeseneffe.be

 

FROM HERE ON UNTIL SEPTEMBER 30

Antwerp’s Fotomuseum exhibits digital images selected from various internet sites, then edited and re-presented by cutting-edge artists. Issues of copyright, authorship and privacy are addressed.

FoMu, Antwerp, www.photomuseum.be

 

LES MIROIRS ET LES CHEMINS UNTIL OCTOBER 14

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, Mac’s follows a festive programme including this expo devoted to three artists in the museum’s collections: Peter Downsbrough, Philippe Durand and Jacqueline Mesmaeker. In the context of the Summer of Photography biennale.

Le Musée des Arts Contemporains, Hornu, www.mac-s.be

 

MEISENTHAL, LE FEU SACRE UNTIL OCTOBER 7

Meisenthal  glassworks. Pioneer of art-nouveau glass. Closed at the end of the 1960s

Grand-Hornu, Hornu, www.grand-hornu-images.be

 

FESTIVAL 5 SAISONS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

The festival transforms Chaudfontaine’s Parc de Hauster into an open-air museum with works by international artists.

Parc de Hauster, Chaudfontaine, www.festival5saisons.org

 

VISIONS D’ENCRE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 2

Namur’s Musée Félicien Rops presents the work of contemporary Belgian artist Anne Gilsoul, who practices Rops’ beloved tradition of etching and aquatint with a modern twist: her non-toxic etching process which does away with acids and solvents.

Musée Félicien Rops, Namur, www.museerops.be

 

THOMAS SCHÜTTE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16

Antwerp’s recently renovated Middelheim Museum inaugurates its new semi-open pavilion, dubbed Het Huis, with an exhibition showcasing the work of German glass and ceramics artist Thomas Schütte.

Middelheim Museum, Antwerp, www.middelheimmuseum.be

 

FROM BEFORE TENIERS UNTIL AFTER ENSOR UNTIL AUGUST 26

Museum Leuven is temporarily displaying historical Flemish paintings from the permanent collection of the Noordbrabants Museum in Den Bosch while the latter is closed for renovations.

Museum Leuven, Leuven, www.mleuven.be