BRAFA Art Fair 2019 – Kunst zonder grenzen

23 januari 2019 – Kunst kent geen grenzen. Het lijkt wellicht al te vanzelfsprekend om dat hier te zeggen, maar in onzekere tijden waarin grenzen in veel landen een prioriteitskwestie lijken te zijn geworden, is het misschien zinnig om het toch te zeggen. Sterker nog, om het ook te bewijzen!

De 64e editie van de BRAFA Art Fair brengt 133 Belgische en internationale kunstgaleries samen van 26 januari tot 3 februari 2019 in Tour & Taxis te Brussel.

‘Kunst zonder grenzen’, omdat BRAFA nooit eerder zo veel buitenlandse galeries mocht ontvangen: met 84 zijn ze, goed voor 63% van het totale aantal exposanten. Tegelijkertijd heeft de beurs nog steeds een sterk Belgisch aandeel. Daar kunnen we alleen maar blij om zijn, want dit bevestigt niet alleen de degelijkheid van de nationale markt, waar de mythe van de Belgische verzamelaar duidelijk nog steeds verleidt, maar ook de groeiende internationale aantrekkingskracht van de beurs, die met elke editie sterker lijkt te worden. De ideale programmering in het begin van het jaar, de centrale geografische ligging van Brussel, te midden van enkele van de meest welvarende gebieden van Europa, en de uitstekende verbindingsmogelijkheden, de kwaliteit van het Brusselse hotelaanbod en van de organisatie van de beurs, evenals de gemoedelijke sfeer à la Belge die op het evenement heerst: stuk voor stuk criteria die ongetwijfeld bijdragen tot de aantrekkelijkheid van BRAFA.

‘Kunst zonder grenzen’, omdat BRAFA van in het begin heeft ingezet op een mix van stijlen, tijdperken en herkomsten, en van eclecticisme en cross-collecting haar handelsmerk maakte. De verzamelaars en kunstliefhebbers van tegenwoordig kunnen die trend wel smaken, want zij stellen graag ensembles samen waarin antiek, modern en hedendaags naast elkaar bestaan. Zo kan een antieke buste perfect een plaatsje krijgen naast een Afrikaans masker of de ideale buurman zijn voor een beeldhouwwerk uit de twintigste eeuw, fraai in de kijker gezet op een achttiende-eeuwse commode met daarboven een designspiegel of een schilderij van de meester! We zien hierin ons hedendaagse tijdperk weerspiegeld, waarin we contacten leggen, consumeren, handeldrijven en reizen tot ver buiten onze grenzen en continenten.

‘Kunst zonder grenzen’ is ook een verlangen om kunst van alle continenten en culturen voor het voetlicht te brengen. Dat is ongetwijfeld al heel lang een van de sterke punten van BRAFA. Vanuit Afrika, Amerika, het Midden-Oosten, Azië en zelfs het verre Oceanië proberen talloze objecten de ogen van de bezoekers te openen voor andere vormen van kunst en expressie, voor andere weergaven en visies van de wereld. Ook deze nieuwe editie heeft weer heel wat nieuwe suggesties in petto!

‘Kunst voor iedereen’ is ook de rode draad in het volledige oeuvre van de eregast van BRAFA 2019, het beroemde Britse kunstenaarsduo Gilbert & George. Ze zijn aanwezig met vijf fotomontages op groot formaat, die op verschillende plaatsen van de beurs worden gepresenteerd. Hoewel het duo al lang internationale erkenning geniet, haalt het zijn inspiratie steevast uit zijn dagelijkse leven in het hart van de Londense volksbuurt East End, uit de contacten met een kosmopolitische en niet per se bevoorrechte bevolking. Vervolgens vertalen ze dat alledaagse leven in grote thematische series, waarin ze onderwerpen aansnijden zoals seks, religie, corruptie, geweld, hoop, angst, racistische spanningen, vaderlandsliefde, verslaving of de dood. Wanneer het lokale universeel wordt, of een andere manier om – mentale – grenzen te doen verdwijnen…

Behalve dit prestigieuze duo wijzen we ook graag op de unieke tentoonstelling die ROCAD.be (de nieuw benaming van de Koninklijke Kamer van de Antiquairs en Kunsthandelaars van België) organiseert ter gelegenheid van haar honderdste verjaardag. In een gedurfde scenografie pakt de vereniging uit met een veertigtal iconische kunstwerken, allemaal afkomstig uit privécollecties, die haar leden in de loop van haar geschiedenis hebben verkocht. Bij de tentoonstelling is ook een boek gepubliceerd dat het beroep van kunsthandelaar schetst van verleden tot heden, én in de toekomst…

Wat zou een bezoek aan BRAFA zijn zonder iets mee te pikken uit het aanbod van de BRAFA Art Talks? In deze dagelijkse lezingen komt een waaier van uiteenlopende onderwerpen aan bod. Zoals dat hoort in een jubileumjaar, staat Pieter Bruegel de Oude centraal in twee afzonderlijke presentaties, een in het Frans en een in het Nederlands. Verder zijn er lezingen over Bernard Van Orley, Peggy Guggenheim, de criteria die maken dat een kunstwerk als belangrijk wordt beschouwd, en twee rondetafelgesprekken in samenwerking met Eeckman Art & Insurance en de Internationale Confederatie van Kunsthandelaars (CINOA).

Tot slot preciseren we graag dat alle op BRAFA tentoongestelde kunstwerken en voorwerpen uiterst nauwgezet zijn onderzocht tijdens een strenge doorlichting (‘vetting’) door een honderdtal onafhankelijke experts, met de medewerking van een wetenschappelijk laboratorium en het Art Loss Register.

Kortom, in hartje winter wil BRAFA een venster zijn op de wereld, waarbij iedereen artistieke inspiratie kan komen opsnuiven en zich verbazen en verwonderen. Een beurs die de bezoeker aanzet tot nadenken en kijken met een andere blik. BRAFA biedt ongetwijfeld voor elk wat wils: het aanbod speelt in op alle eisen en budgetten, van de meest deskundige verzamelaar tot de eenvoudige beginner. Dit alles en nog veel meer is BRAFA.

Hieronder volgt een – weliswaar onvolledige – selectie van kunstwerken en verzamelingen die u tijdens de 2019 editie zeker niet mag missen (deze informatie is enkel beschikbaar in het Engels).

Haute Epoque

• At Mullany (stand 33b): an Infant Jesus of great delicacy draws the visitor’s gaze, a work of Juan de Mesa (Córdoba 1583 – 1627 Seville), Spain, c. 1619 – 1623 and a Pietà of great intensity by Luis de Morales (Badajoz c.1510-1511–1586 Alcántara), Portugal, c. 1570 – 1580.
• Sandro Morelli (stand 63a) presents an outstanding wooden strong box with on the front two carved lions, five irons pendants with a very ornamental spiderweblock, decorative certosino inlaid with ivory nails, ‘fake’ secret drawers, from Lombardy, late XV century.
• The Galerie Sismann (stand 110c): specialist in European sculpture of the ‘Golden Age’ up to the 18th century, has this year put the emphasis on ‘Flemish and Dutch Golden Age sculpture’. To be particularly admired are a highly refined Baroque angel, from the entourage of Guillaume Kerricx the Elder in Antwerp circa 1700 and a Virgin and Child with the young John the Baptist in ivory, a work of great tenderness and virtuosity.

Pre-Columbian art

• Deletaille Gallery (stand 40b): creates unexpected parallels between an exceptional Codex Style vase with mythological scene Ceramic from Mexico, Guatemala, Maya Lowlands, 600- 900 AD and contemporary artworks in cardboard, masks and armours of Lilian Daubisse or a superb historical work in plaster of Georges Segal dating 1970.

Archaeology

• Galerie Harmakhis (stand 76c) highlights several masterpieces including an impressive Roman theatre mask dating back to the Ist Century AD, 75 cm high, a very pure head of a dignitary in basalt, Egypt, 19th Century (c.1292-1190 BC) and an elegant Ba-bird, Egypt, Ptolemaic Period, 3rd – 2nd century BC, gilded and polychrome stucco on wood.
• Axel Vervoordt (stand 75b) will celebrate its 50-year anniversary in 2019. Highlights include a votive face stele, exceptionally executed in bronze, from South Arabia, circa 200-100 BC. with a surprisingly contemporary aspect.
• Phoenix Ancient Art (stand 8c) exhibits a beautiful Roman marble, 4^th BC depicting the powerful superhero Hercules with the horn of Achelous. The sculpture was once part of the private collection of the New York restaurateur and art collector Jan Mitchell.
• Galerie L’Ibis (stand 44b) showcases a powerful head of Sekmet with a solar disk in diorite, New Kingdom, period of Amenhotep III, ca. 1410-1372 B.C.

Asian art

• Grusenmeyer-Woliner (stand 97d) displays a beautiful Stele of Vishnu in black stone, northeast India, Pala period, 12th c.
• A real eye-catcher is to be found at ArtAncient (stand 73b) with a larger than life stucco head of the Buddha, dating from the 4th century AD, a rare example of Buddhist art with a beautiful otherwordly expression, a fine polished surface and original polychrome.
• Not to be missed at Christophe Hioco (stand 132a) are two elegant bronze sconces representing dragons, Northern China, 11th-10th century BC (Western Zhou Dynasty), provenance from the famous David David-Weill collection, and a sandstone Umamahesvara from Northern India, 8th to 9th Century, Gurjara-Pratihara Dynasty, an excellent example of the grace and movement of Indian statuary of the medieval period.
• Steinitz (stand 6c) continues to surprise us, with this Japanese lacquer marriage chest from the Edo era, 17th century. Japanese lacquer in Maki-e or silver on a black background; sculpted and gilded wood.
• Pierre Segoura (stand 56a): exhibits a stunning pair of earthenware water jugs in Japanese enameled porcelain and with a gilded and chiseled mount. This pair of jugs dates from the Empo Tenwa period, around 1673-1683, the beginning of the Kakiemon style, produced in the kilns of Arita.

Old Masters

• Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564-1637/38) is the guest of honour at the Galerie Florence de Voldère (stand 115c). His painting titled ‘Wedding Dance in the Open Air’, dated 1624, is an interpretation of a drawing by Pieter Bruegel the Elder, now lost. Its worldly theme, that of a dance, attests to the revolution of ideas engendered by the progress of humanism.
• At Costermans (stand 123b) – celebrating its 180th anniversary this year! – it’s a portrait of a man by Gaspar de Crayer (1582 – 1669), a work from Antwerp of great finesse painted in 1627, merits admiration.
• Jan Muller Antiques (stand 129b) presents a beautiful Frans Francken II (Antwerp 1581 – 1642) & Ambrosius Francken (Antwerp ca 1590 – 1632), The passage of the Red Sea.

Furniture & works of art XVIth-XVIIIth century

• One outstanding item is the beautiful polychrome Boulle marquetry chest of drawers attributed to Nicolas Sageot (1666-1731), Louis XIV era, at Brun Fine Art (stand 118c).
• An elegant lady’s writing desk (bureau en pente), Paris, Louis XV period, c1745/55) executed by Bernard J.J. van Risenburgh, aka B.V.R.B. (1696-1766; maître before 1730) welcomes you to the stand of Röbbig München (stand 5c).
• Theunissen & De Ghellinck (stand 140a) offers elegant ’Scabello’ chairs from Turin, circa 1740-1750. A similar model can be found in the Royal Palace of Turin.
• Steinitz (stand 6c): shows an impressive bust of Bacchus in terracotta, circa 1645 by Lucas Faydherbe (Mechelen, 1617-1697) as well as Bust of Omphale, queen of Lydia, circa 1645. Provenance: from the artist’s collection, collection of his son Jan Lucas Faydherbe (1654-1704), in his house in Mechelen, province of Antwerp, Flanders, then by descent.

Contemporary art

• Various works from Gilbert & George, guest of honour, spread over the fair : to be admired at Albert Baronian (stand 65a), at Bernier/Eliades (stand 110c), the series of the BEARD PICTURES, at Guy Pieters (stand 141a) or at Galerie Schifferli (stand 67a), a great historic work in black and white from 1980 called MAD.
• For her first entry, Gallery Sofie van de Velde (stand 18d) is organising an exhibition called ‘Looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses’ in a stand wreathed in a pink atmosphere. Her key piece is without doubt a bodice by the Mexican artist, Frida Kahlo.
• You are met at the entrance to the Gladstone Gallery (stand 96d) by an immense sculpture by Ugo Rondinone (223 x 91.4 x 71 cm) and a very fine Kapoor mirror or a delicate work by Alessandro Boetti.
• At Meessen De Clercq (stand 93d), a spectacular half bust of Hermès from French artist Benoît Lemaire not be missed.
• Patrick de Brock (stand 91d) shows a fine minimalist series by Imi Knoebel, dated 2018 where he works on the play of colour and form.
• La Patinoire Royale / Galerie Valérie Bach (stand 49a), confirms its predilection for kinetic and optical art and pays tribute to Franco-Venezuelian artist Carlos Cruz Diez (Caracas, 1923), a major practitioner of this art. Cruz Diez’ spiritual filiation will be represented by the works of Gisela Colon (USA, 1966); her sculpture-paintings titled ‘Pods’, inspired by nature and femininity, are like cells with changing colours and a mother-of-pearl effect. An impressive table by Ado Chale, a Belgian blacksmith and artist, will be displayed as a counterpoint to this double show.

Tribal Art

• Belgian Comic Strip Gallery (stand 99d): for the first time on the original comic strip drawings market, an exceptional set of three original compositions in India ink illustrating scenes from the adventures of Tintin in the Middle East; ‘The Crab with the Golden Claws’ and ‘Tintin in the Land of Black Gold’.

Jewellery

• Epoque Fine Jewels (stand 53a): offering a marvel of delicacy, a unique, museum-quality work; an Art Nouveau dog collar titled ‘Glycines’ made by the renowned Belgian goldsmith and jeweller Philippe Wolfers in 1901-1902.
• On Bernard Bouisset’s stand 37b), the most precious object is a spectacular articulated bracelet of more than 60 carats, an unsigned French piece from the 1940s

20th century decorative arts

• Maison Rapin (stand 113c): has chosen a 1968 couch in leopard print, a rare piece emblematic of the radical Italian design collective Archizoom Associati (Florence, 1966-1974). Members of the anti)design movement, their much admired work was a critique of modernism and its propensity to promote consumerist societies.
• The Heritage Gallery from Moscow (stand 128b) will mark its debut at BRAFA 2019 with a remarkable table on rifle legs, made in Soviet Russia in the 1930s. The 1917 Revolution and its consequences were for the most part dramatic, but also offered unprecedented opportunities for artists as propaganda art became one of the new paths open to them. Decorated with hammers and sickles, the table glorifies the Revolution and its people. ‘Work hard, gun alongside’, as Vladimir Mayakovsky put it.
• Galerie Le Beau (stand 102d): for its fourth participation, the Galerie Le Beau presents a selection of furniture connected to architecture by focusing on the Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto whose 1950 table lamp has become a rarity, and on Brazilian modernist design with Joaquim Tereiro, the founder of Brazilian modernist design, whose elegant three- seat sofa and a wonderful chaise-longue are sure to be eye-catchers. Other works include those of Israeli architect and designer Ron Arad, American design master George Nakashima and Danish designer Poul Henningsen.
• Exhibiting here for the first time, the Dutch Gallery Morentz (stand 86d) has selected some fine pieces: an outstanding Paul Evans (USA) cabinet from his first collection for Directional Furniture, a sculptural armchair designed by Martin Eisler (Austria) in 1955, and a rare wooden sculptural coffee table designed by Nerone and Patuzzi for Gruppo NP2.
• Galerie Mathivet (stand 4c) presents a fabulous Fireplace mantel, circa 1900 of Carlo Bugatti (1856 -1940) is not be missed.

Glass, porcelain and ceramics

• Röbbig Munchen (stand 5c) : among various treasures, a very rare pair of purple-ground baluster vases with polychrome chinoiserie scenes by Johann Gregorius Höroldt (1696 – 1775) and Johann Ehrenfried Stadler (1701 – 1741), Meissen, c. 1728. These so-called Augustus Rex-vases, which bear the monogram ‘AR’ for Augustus Rex, August the Strong, who founded the first European porcelain manufactory in 1710 in Meissen. Only porcelain that was made for August the Strong himself or as diplomatic gifts was marked with this monogram.
• Art & Patrimoine Laurence Lenne (stand 130b): is exhibiting an elegant Vincennes porcelain vase by Charles-Nicolas Dodin (1734 – 1803).
• Marc Heiremans (stand 69b) presents a rare Battuto vase from Tobia Scarpa (Venice, 1935), For Venini, Italy, Murano, circa 1960.

Clocks

Gold and silverware

• Dario Ghio (stand 108c) is exhibiting a rare set of four candlesticks in silver, silversmith Michaël Filassils, Paris, circa 1714-1715, as well as a rare erotic cutlery set in ivory, silver and iron, Netherlands circa 1680.
• One of the focus points at Arschot & Cie (stand 42b) will be a very sophisticated engraved and gilded goblet, decorated with polychrome enamel painted over copper, Augsbourg 1710, by Elias Adam, a brilliant silversmith, with enamel by Johan Aufenwerth.
• La Galerie Claude Bernard (stand 27c) presents a remarkable solo show of the work of French sculptor and goldsmith, Goudji, born in Georgia. His artwork combines dinandery technique with hard stone incrustations in metal. Around 70 pieces in gold and in silver have been brought together for this occasion.

19th, 20th and 21st Century Paintings

• Brame & Lorenceau (stand 84c) are showing a rare, very beautiful, drawing in Indian ink made in 1917 by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), entitled ‘Parade: the French Manager’ as well as an enigmatic oil on canvas ‘L’air Solaire’ (1962) by Victor Brauner (1903-1966).
• At the Galerie von Vertes (stand 7c), an enigmatic sunset by French symbolist Odilon Redon (1840-1916) accompanies another magnificent play of colours by the German Gerard Richter (b. 1932), Ohne Titel (1.10.83), oil on paper, 1983.
• The outstanding display at Simon Studer Art Associés (stand 16d) is dominated by a magnificent, great work by American painter Kenneth Nolan (1924 -2010), To Sea, produced in 1970 during his minimalist period, as well as a work by Niki de Saint-Phalle (1930-2002), ‘Graziella’, made in 1963-1964, an assembly of objects on a metal framework with lace and spray paint, mounted on a panel.
• At Repetto Gallery, London (stand 80c), which specialises in post-war Italian art, a whole wall is dedicated to presenting elegant ceramics by Fausto Melotti (1901-1986) from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
• The Galerie Shifferli (stand 67a) is also presenting a very fine drawing with primitive lines, by Louis Soutter (1871-1942), ‘Je dois les nourrir’, a late work produced when he was almost blind and was painting directly onto the paper with his fingers. This series is the most rare and sought-after by collectors.
• Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke (stand 27c): presents ‘Les plongeurs’ (The Divers) by Fernand Léger (1881-1955), a gouache dating from 1944, which will attract attention for its wonderful colours and dynamics as well as its link with Parisian Galerie Louise Leiris of David-Henry Kahnweiler ou un beau Soulages de 1959.
• The Osborne Samuel Gallery (stand 81c) will be showing ‘Six reclining figures’, 1944, by Henry Moore (1898-1986). The six reclining figures in this wartime drawing are beautifully drawn sketches for sculpture typical of the artist’s working method. It will also exhibit a unique Lynn Chadwick (1914-2003), ‘Three Standing Figures’, 1955. This work was included in the Kassel Documenta of 1955, which led to Chadwick’s invitation to the 1956 Venice Biennale where he won the International Sculpture Prize ahead of the expected winner, Alberto Giacometti.
• Rodolphe Janssen (stand 94d) displays a beautiful Karel Appel with vivid colors, ‘Twee Figuren’ from 1954, that had been acquired by Hergé, the Creator of Tintin and was to be seen in his office.

Ancient and Modern Books

• An extraordinary, rare drypoint etching by Rembrandt (1606-1669), entitled ‘Les Trois Arbres’ can be seen at Lex Antiqua (stand 50a) among the most sought-after landscapes. This work was exhibited at the Louvre from the early 19th Century and was the favourite print of the French avant-garde.
• The Librairie Callioppe (stand 50a) presents an original 1st Edition of ‘Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus’, one of the first gothic novels in the English literary genre, a classic known all over the world and the precursor of French crime fiction.
• L’ABAC (stand 50a) exhibits a ‘Pornocrates’ by Félicien Rops (1833-1898), an original photograph signed by the artist.

Objects of curiosity

• Numerous unusual surprises await you at Finch & Co (stand37b), including a sinuous Baroque mythological sculpture of the God Hercules wrestling the Giant Antaeus attributed to Antwerp sculptor Jan Pieter van Baurscheit the Elder, an unsual interesting set of twelve ivory historical caricature portrait reliefs depicting some of the leading Catholic clergy responsible for the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 and implicated in the subsequent persecution of the Protestant Huguenots, as well as a beautiful collection of 30 Oceanic Fijian Hardwoord ‘I Ulas’ displaying the various types used for throwing or as missile clubs for hunting or fighting weapons.
• Porfirius Kunstkammer (stand 47a): shows a Rose Engine Turned Box, a rare combined tobacco and snuff box of 1575, a splendid example of a Tudor work of Art.
• Theatrum Mundi (stand 122b) has designed a stand around the theme of the moon. Here, the 21st century spirit of Wunderkammer combines a lunar stone with astronauts’ costumes from iconic Hollywood films like the Aliens, or Armageddon, as well as various scientific instruments, such as a rare planispheric astrolabe in gothic style (14th-15th century, Paris) attributed to Jean Fusoris. Extraordinary unusual piece: the very fine skeleton of a Pteranodon longiceps in flying position, from the Upper Cretaceous period, 70-85 million years ago found in Western Kansas, USA.
• ArtAncient (stand 86d): presents an exhibition called Maker Unknown, which explores the artistic and sculptural qualities of natural artworks and compare these to man-made antiquities.They displayed an exceptional, intact example of the largest egg ever laid (H: 30 cm), in excellent condition, an elephant bird (Aepyornis maximus) egg from Madagascar, dating to the 17th century or earlier. Equally spectacular, a huge, swirling mass of natural greyish-white sparkling sandstone which constitutes a gogotte formation. A magnificent example of one of nature’s rarest and most aesthetic rock formations, discovered in the sand dunes of Fontainebleau, France, Oligocene, and dating back to circa 30 million years ago.

BRAFA – Brussels Art Fair – 26 januari t/m 03 februari 2019
Tour & Taxis, Havenlaan 88 – 1000 Brussel
www.brafa.art