The thrill of the new year is here – especially with the one behind us being so difficult to say the least. With all the lessons of the year 2020, we are ready for new beginnings, appreciating more life, small things and taking a break to enjoy beautiful things that surround us. For a wonderful start to the year and to immerse yourself in something beautiful, we have picked 5 exhibitions which are not to be missed if you find yourself in Brussels:
1. The Light House, Villa Empain
There are not enough or right words to describe the very special experience that the exhibition The Light House gives to its visitors. Light installations set in the beautiful environment of Villa Empain, the Art Deco masterpiece that was turned into a museum, give it a new meaning and reinterpret the space of the villa. While the exhibition explores different types of light like celestial light, neon light etc., it also thematises the absence of light and the role of shadow as well as the different meanings of light in different cultures. With the works of 21 renowned artists of the world, among which are James Turrell, Joseph Kosuth and Mounir Fatmi, the exhibition encompasses the works of about 60 years of exploring the light, with some of the works being site-specific, created especially for the villa and even expanding beyond the villa walls and including it in the work of art.
2. Fake for real, House of European History
What is fake and what is real? How to know the difference and how to know when we are being fooled and deceived? In the era of the fake news, this very important question emerges and is relevant now more than ever. Though in current times the amount of disinformation and forgeries is unprecedented, don’t be fooled – the forgery and falsification goes a long way back, even in the ancient times. The exhibition at the House of the European History shows us the roadmap of this phenomenon, giving interesting insight from both past and the present.
3. Standing Stones, ADAM, Design Museum Brussels
Besides having a very interesting permanent exhibition / Plastic Design Collection where you can enjoy the design of 20th and 21st century, with the exhibition ‘Standing Stones’, Design Museum Brussels has started the program of exploring the dialogue between art and design. Created by Greek artists Eleni Petaloti and Leonidas Trampoukis from the studio Objects of Common Interest, the current installation is inspired by forms and figures of the Cycladic civilization during the Bronze Age which are reinterpreted through inflatables – what was before hard, heavy and solid is now light and airy, creating a completely different, dreamy and contemplative landscape, giving the visitor a feeling of transcendence and meditative experience.
4. Hotel Beethoven, BOZAR
Welcome to HOTEL BEETHOVEN! Though, this is of course not an ordinary hotel but an exhibition to mark 250 years from the birth of one of the greatest composers in the world, Ludwig van Beethoven, whose art and work doesn’t cease to impress and remains relevant still today. Besides being a genius composer and musical innovator, while going deaf, Beethoven also brought the question of sound to the world, which is now being investigated more than ever: how can we listen with our bodies? Together with this, the exhibition also examines the question of how visual artists translate sounds and music into images as well as if art can change the way we listen. With different exhibits from 1770 to 2020, including works by artists such as Katie Paterson and Andy Warhol, HOTEL BEETHOVEN brings a beautiful mix of different points of views through eras, all connected through the icon of Ludwig van Beethoven.
5. Danser Brut, BOZAR
While in BOZAR, we do recommend to visit another interesting exhibition there. For all the dance lovers but also all the people who are interested in expressions and movement of the human body, exhibition ‘Danser brut’ is definitely an exhibition to visit. Through different works of art, the exhibition examines the connection between dance and involuntary or repetitive movements, putting the emphasis on forms of expressions of the human body, hand gestures and facial expressions. With work by artists such as Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Ulrich Bleiker, Charlie Chaplin and Vaslav Nijinsky and together with a selection of documents, manuscripts, magazines and video excerpts, the exhibition doesn’t tell the history of dance but broadens our view of it.
