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 Belgium Antique Dealers Fair / Antiekbeurs van België
Jan 18-27, 2008, Brussels, Belgium |
The Antiques and Fine Arts Fair of Belgium gains international recognition
130 Belgian and international exhibitors meet from 18 - 27 January 2008 in Brussels
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Exhibitor:
A.L.F.A
René Magritte (1898-1967)
"Research of the Absolute"
Gouache on paper, 35 x 27 cm
Signed lower left
Titled on the reverse
Probably one of the ten gouaches that Magritte executed for the exhibition organized by Alexandre Iolas at the Galerie Rive-Droite in February 1960.
Provenance: Alexandre Iolas, Paris; Robert Elkon Gallery, New York; Helen W. Benjamin |
October 2007 - The 53rd Antiques and Fine Arts Fair of Belgium is being held in Brussels at the Tour & Taxis site for the fifth successive year: the dates for the forthcoming edition are 18 - 27 January 2008.
Around 130 Belgian and foreign exhibitors will share this 12,400 square metre exhibition space to welcome a wide-ranging public, from museum curators to keen collectors or simple art lovers. This foremost Belgian Fair is now established as a top international event, creating a unique place in the international calendar.
While the number of exhibitors at the Fair has purposely not been increased – emphasis will once again be on the exceptional quality of the pieces on show. An independent board made up largely of museum curators and international experts who are not participants in the Fair, will be responsible for vetting all items according to extremely strict criteria. It is precisely this insistence on quality and authenticity that has enabled the Fair to flourish since its move to the Tour & Taxis site in 2004, and which now consolidates its reputation, in Belgium and abroad.
The 2008 event is distinguished by an increase in the number of foreign exhibitors, who now constitute 51% of all participants. These exhibitors will come to Brussels from France, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Great Britain, Spain, Italy and Luxembourg. Newcomers to the Fair this year include Bérès (19th- and 20th-century paintings and drawings), Chevalier (ancient and modern tapestries), Eric Coatalem (paintings, drawings and sculptures by French masters of the 17th - 20th centuries), Zlotowski (20th-century paintings), Fabienne Fiacre (Old Master paintings) and Cybèle (books and Egyptology), all from France, who will be joined by Giulia Canepa Antiquités (Old Master painting) from Monaco, Finch & Co (ethnography and curiosities) from the United Kingdom, Antichitta di Maurizio Nobile (furniture, paintings and objets d’art from the 18th and 19th centuries) from Italy, Kunsthandel Michael Nolte (Louis XV, Louis XVI, Empire) from Germany and Jorge Portuondo Wakkonig (furniture, objets d’art, clocks, watches, and sculptures from the 14th to 19th centuries) from Spain.
The increased number of international exhibitors is a tribute to the success of the Fair and the vitality of Belgian market and that of its neighbours, and the Fair is further strengthened by their inclusion. Belgian exhibitors there are this year joined by colleagues Serge Schoffel (primitive arts), Maruani & Noirhomme Gallery (painting, sculpture and American photography after 1980), Apelles Art (sculptures by José Vermeersch) and Vincent Colet (20th-century furniture and objets d’art).
The field of Old Master Paintings– one of the Fair’s traditional strengths, alongside objets d’art and antiquities – is enhanced by the arrival of Galeries Bérès (Paris), Eric Coatalem (Paris), Giulia Canepa (Monaco) and the return of Jacques Leegenhoek (Paris). The Fair is also a showcase for modern and contemporary works, from Galeries Maruani & Noirhomme (Knokke) and Apelles Art (Antwerp). Antiquities will be particularly well-represented with the inclusion of several major dealers including Cybèle (Paris), Genevois Sycomore Ancient Art and Phoenix Ancient Art and Harmakhis (Brussels), who are returning after a two year absence. The forthcoming Fair will also host two new specialities, ancient weapons from Boutet Paris.com (Knokke-Heist), and Islamic art from Sarah Kuehn (Brussels), while the gold, silver and jewellery section is happy to welcome back Epoque Fine Jewels (Courtrai).
The highlight of the 2008 Fair is an exhibition dedicated to a pair of 15th-century tapestries representing “The History of Alexander the Great”. Originally from the private collection of the Princes Doria Pamphili at the Palazzo del Principe in Genoa (Italy), this will be the first time that these tapestries have been seen outside Italy since their purchase. They are considered to be the finest examples of such tapestries still in existence and were probably woven in the workshops of Pasquier Grenier of Tournai in around 1460, at a time when the town’s output was at its best. This pair of tapestries, which forms a phenomenal complete work almost 20 metres long, is likely to have belonged to Andrea Doria, the Admiral who led Charles V’s fleet in his incessant struggle against the Turks in the Mediterranean Sea. They were in very poor condition and difficult to make out. But thanks to the generous support of the Antiques and Fine Arts Fair of Belgium, The Royal Manufacturers De Wit at Malines has just completed their restoration. The Fair is delighted to have the privilege of exhibiting this extraordinary pair of tapestries during the 2008 Fair.
The “Volume Architecture” team who have been responsible for the design of previous fairs will once again be taking very special care over the design and layout of the common areas, which are to have a more museum-like feel. Visitors are to be welcomed at the entrance into a very intimate, almost virtual atmosphere, preparing them for a gentle, gradual discovery of the objets d’art presented on the stands of the various exhibitors. The aisles between the stands have been redesigned and will be of equal widths in the interest of both fairness and comfort. Making use of cinema technology and image projection, the great reception hall will guide the public to an area dedicated to the exhibition of the two tapestries, which will be laid out and designed like a real, albeit transient, museum.
Finally, for the first time the Fair will mount an international publicity campaign which is aimed at raising the profile of the Fair throughout Europe and the United States.
Belgium Antique Dealers Fair
www.antiques-fair.be |
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