29 august 2023, Flor Linckens
Brussels Gallery Weekend 2023
From 7 to 10 September, the 16th edition of Brussels Gallery Weekend will take place. Since its inception in 2008, this annual event transforms the European capital into a vibrant center for contemporary art. The event marks the opening of the art season, which will be celebrated in a festive way. 45 galleries (with 50 spaces) participate in the event, some of which are represented on GalleryViewer.
In addition to the exhibitions in the galleries, you are also able to attend events in fourteen affiliated art institutes as well as artist-run spaces. For instance, you can discover the art collection of the National Bank of Belgium. You can also visit the annual main exhibition Generation Brussels, which highlights young talent that is not (yet) represented by a gallery. This year, the exhibition was curated by art critic Sam Steverlynck. In addition to the exhibitions, you can also participate in guided tours, artist talks, a workshop, a screening and a book presentation. An excellent opportunity to discover the contemporary art scene of Brussels!
In Waldburger Wouters you can view, among other things, the video artwork "Seduction of a Cyborg" by Lynn Hershman Leeson, which is part of the collection of the MoMA in New York. The now 82-year-old artist has been researching the impact and potential of new technology in her practice for more than fifty years, in particular in relation to gender, sexuality and disembodiment. An issue that certainly feels extra relevant now, in the context of discussions about Artificial Intelligence and the ways in which it could disrupt our society. In an interview with MoMA, the artist stated: “Technology is neutral. We invent these things, and as humans we give it meaning. So, if humans are utopian, then the technology will be also. And if humans are greedy, and need things, and use it in a negative way, then it’s dystopian.” The gallery also shows work by Elen Braga, Eli Cortiñas and Anne-Mie Van Kerckhoven.
rodolphe janssen presents work in two spaces during Brussels Gallery Weekend. At 35 Rue De Livourne you can see a solo exhibition by the Greek-American painter Gina Beavers, whose work was on display in a solo exhibition at MoMA PS1 in New York in 2019. For her exuberant and almost sculptural paintings, she is inspired by a multitude of sources, from (our relationship with) the internet and digital culture to art history, in a combination of high and low culture. In her practice, she delves deeper into topics such as privacy and our attitude towards it. A few doors down at number 32, the gallery is showing a solo exhibition by Belgian artist Fred Bervoets, featuring paintings and works on paper from the Stéphane Janssen Collection. The occasion for the exhibition is a recent donation from the collection to the Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp. In 2022, the artist was interviewed by GalleryViewer.
