The Brussels Art Fair (BRAFA) 2024, open for visitors until February 4, celebrates the 100 years since the emergence of the art mouvement of Surrealism with several rare exhibits on display, offering attendees a unique opportunity to delve into both historic and contemporary surrealist artists.
[Featured Image: René Magritte, Le Palais de Ridaux (Galerie de la Béraudière) Credit: BRAFA]
An avant-garde art movement
It was in 1924 that André Breton (1896-1966) published the Manifeste du Surréalisme, initiating an artistic and philosophical movement that would have a lasting impact on the twentieth century, BRAFA notes.
An extremely rare copy of Breton’s manifeste, one of only nineteen original copies, will be presented by the Librairie Lardanchet (Paris) at BRAFA 2024 at the stand of the Belgian Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association (CLAM-BBA).
A rare copy of Andre Breton’s Manifeste du Surrealisme, 1924, worth 25,000 euros (Belgian Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association) Credit: BRAFA
Works by world’s acclaimed surrealists at BRAFA 2024
Another very early surrealist work, dating from 1916, is Léopold Survage’s (1879-1968) Composition surréaliste, that will be exhibited by Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke (Brussels).
Among other rarities, two works by Belgium’s greatest Surrealist, René Magritte (1898-1967), will be on display for visitors at BRAFA; a very fine drawing entitled La Légende des Siècles (1950), presented by De Jonckheere (Geneva), and an ink on paper entitled L’intelligence (1946), proposed by Van Herck-Eykelberg (Antwerp).
René Magritte, La Légende des Siècles (De Jonckheere, Geneva) Credit: BRAFA
Work from the world’s most famous surrealist, Salvador Dalí (1904-1989), couldn’t be missing from the show; an Etude d’enfant for his second version of the Madone de Port-Lligat (1950) is presented by Galerie Ary Jan (Paris).
Several historic works by Max Ernst (1891-1976), including Horizon (1926), are proposed by the Galerie de la Béraudière (Brussels).
Also from Max Ernst, Die Galerie (Frankfurt am Main) present three very important sculptures of the artist, entitled Corps enseignant pour une école de tueurs.
Corps enseignant pour une école de tueurs, Max Ernst (Die Galerie, Frankfurt am Main) Credit: BRAFA
Must-see features at BRAFA 2024
This year’s guest of honour at BRAFA is the Paul Delvaux Foundation, to mark the 30th anniversary of the passing of this great painter, who was a surrealist for some, and a late heir to Symbolism for others.
Paul Delvaux, Two Women (Galerie Oscar de Vos, Sint-Martens-Latem) Credit: BRAFA
Other must-see features at BRAFA 2024 are the Surrealist Cabinet of Curiosities by the Galeries AB & BA (Paris) and Florian Kolhammer’s (Vienna) tribute to Georg Klimt, the “underestimated, hardly honored” younger brother of the world-famous Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt.
Also, heirs to the historic Surrealism, young generations of talented artists that are still drawing inspiration from it today, can be discovered at the fair.
Works by the American Emily Mae Smith and the Belgians Thomas Lerooy and Tom Poelmans are on show at the stand of Rodolphe Janssen (Brussels).
As always, the Art Talks organised at the fair will debate the hottest issues of the moment around art, such as the effect of AI on art production, which will conclude BRAFA 2024 on Sunday.
BRAFA 2024 runs Sunday, January 28th to Sunday, February 4th, 2024 in Halls 3 & 4 of Brussels Expo.
Tickets can be bought online or on-site.
