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24—27.04.25 Brussels Expo
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Oliver Beer in conversation with Emilie de Pauw
On the occasion of his spotlight with Almine Rech at Art Brussels, featuring works from his Resonance Paintings series, Oliver Beer will be in conversation with Émilie de Pauw about his practice. Exploring the intersections between sound, space, and materiality, his work reveals the hidden acoustic and physical properties of objects and architecture.
The discussion will also highlight his distinctive approach to painting, in dialogue with a large-scale piece from the Nymphéas series, previously exhibited as part of ‘Normandie Impressionniste’.
Oliver Beer is a visual artist and composer whose sculptures, paintings, installations, videos and immersive live performances reveal the hidden properties and innate musicality of objects, bodies and architectural spaces. Rooted in his background in both musical composition and visual art, Beer’s work draws on social and familial relationships to explore universal themes such as the transmission of musical heritage or the personal and cultural significance we assign to the objects we possess. For his ‘Resonance Project’ (2007–), Beer composes vocal performances that activate the natural harmonics of built structures, creating a disarmingly visceral connection between the audience and the surrounding space. His Resonance Paintings translate musical harmony into visual form by using sound to vibrate scattered pigment over his canvases, capturing the ‘shapes of sound’ in a painting method that uniquely merges auditory and visual expression.
Beer’s work has been exhibited in major institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and MoMA PS1 in New York; London Mithraeum Bloomberg SPACE; the Centre Pompidou, Opéra Garnier, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Palais de Tokyo, Musée d’Art Moderne, and Château de Versailles in Paris; the Musée d’Art Contemporain in Lyon; Queensland Gallery of Modern Art in Australia; Ikon Gallery in Birmingham; WIELS in Brussels; the West Bund Museum and The Long Museum in Shanghai; as well as the Sydney, Istanbul, Lyon, and Venice biennales. Beer was part of the British Art Show 9 and has undertaken residencies at Villa Albertine, Palais de Tokyo, Watermill Centre, Sydney Opera House, and Foundation Hermès.
Oliver studied musical composition at the Academy of Contemporary Music in London, Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art, University of Oxford, and film theory at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Oliver Beer, "Resonance Painting (Lucid Dreams)," 2024, pigment on canvas, 200 × 400 cm (78½ × 157½ in), © Oliver Beer, courtesy of the artist and Almine Rech, photo: Juan Cruz Ibañez.
Émilie De Pauw is the founder of Panoptès, an art collection located in Brussels and dedicated to perceptual minimalism (www.panoptes.art). The collection’s mission is to preserve and display artworks, to support artists and scholars, and to broadly share its areas of focus, in the hope to contribute to the understanding of this artistic sensibility. Panoptès is open to the public several times a year and by appointment.
"Portrait of Émilie de Pauw," © Émilie de Pauw, Courtesy of Émilie de Pauw.
Ruinart Art Talk: Caroline Carton & Lélia Demoisy
For nearly 300 years, Ruinart has been engaged in an ongoing conversation with nature, which is at the very core of its champagne.
By taking the time to observe and better understand living things, and by cultivating harmony between people and their environment, the oldest champagne house contributes to the future of a terroir that has shaped its history.
In and beyond the vineyard, the Maison also fosters a unique dialogue with art, from historic collaborations to recent projects that combine artistic creation with environmental concerns. Convinced that art has the power to transform, connect, and enlighten us, Ruinart continues its Conversations with Nature in 2025.
For the series Conversations with Nature in 2025, French artist Lélia Demoisy created works with the support of Maison Ruinart that resonate with the Maison’s commitment to biodiversity. Her workexplores the interdependence of natural ecosystems, with a particular focus on the plant kingdom.
As an extension of “Between Us”, a permanent work installed at 4 rue des Crayères in Reims, Lélia Demoisy continues her exploration of the invisible connections that unite living beings. With “L’Étreinte”, she stages the subtle underground exchanges between trees, materialized by the intertwining of seven types of wood and white steel roots. “La Cape” gives a new form to fragments of wood from forestry, while a plank made from intertwined vine roots with white steel rods evokes the sculpture “Between Us”. Lastly, “Les Anastomoses”, composed of the growth rings of the chestnut tree forming a symbol of infinity, embody the poetry of connection and transformation.
Champagne Region – A New Cultural Destination
After 3 years of renovation work, its emblematic address has been metamorphosed to embody the Maison’s vision. Tradition and modernity coexist harmoniously in this historic setting where nature, culture, heritage and savoir-faire weave together in unison. Since being founded in 1729, Maison Ruinart has been crafting champagne, taking the time to observe, listen to and understand nature. Sou Fujimoto, Gwenaël Nicolas and Christophe Gautrand, the creative forces behind the metamorphosis of 4 RUE DES CRAYÈRES, have followed this guiding principle to imagine a new chapter for this emblematic address.
By building a contemporary low-carbon, local-stone pavilion opposite the historic buildings, commissioning sculptures for the wooded park, a haven for local biodiversity and artistic expression, and offering multiple experiences around champagne, Maison Ruinart is embodying an enlightened vision of hospitality and keeping the vision and values of its founder alive.
Ruinart, 4 RUE DES CRAYEREs, 2024 © Raul Cabrera
Gluon: Christophe De Jaeger in conversation with artist David Claerbout
During a residency at Gluon Brussels, David Claerbout engaged with experts from the worlds of AI and neuroscience to understand the impact of generative AI on his artistic practice. During his residency, he explored the relationship between AI and how our brain works. Central to Claerbout’s two new films The Wood Carver and The Forest and The Forest and The Wood, is the question: ‘Does AI only embody the left brain with its language skills, without intuition or sensory experience? Or can AI also reach further and really create something new?’
In The Wood Carver and The Forest, filmed material is ‘coloured in’ using AI and CGI (computer generated imagery). Here, the artist uses AI as a consultant on mood creation. For The Forest and The Wood, Claerbout starts from AI-inspired set proposals, landscapes inspired by 500 years of landscape painting. His conclusions are diverse: although a somewhat blind adviser, AI quickly understands what the artist is looking for. At the same time, the AI-generated images are full of errors that you have to correct as a cinematographer.
David Claerbout (b. 1969) is an internationally acclaimed artist working in the realm of new media art. Having created his first videos in the mid-1990s, his artistic practice has transitioned since the early 2000s into synthetic image-making situatd at the intersection of photography, film, and digital art. Claerbout has been the subject of numerous solo exhibitions internationally, including: Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands (2005); Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2007); Kunstmuseum, St. Gallen, Switzerland (2008); De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art, Tilburg, The Netherlands (2009) and (2016); SFMOMA, San Francisco; WIELS, Brussels, Belgium (2011); Secession, Vienna, Austria; Tel Aviv Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel; Parasol Unit, London (2012); Nederlands Fotomuseum, Rotterdam (2014); Marabouparken Konsthall, Sundbybert, Sweden (2015); KINDL, Berlin (2016); Städel Museum, Frankfurt (2016); MNAC, Barcelona (2017); Schaulager, Basel (2017); Kunsthaus Bregenz (2018); Kunst Museum Winterthur (2020); and Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague (2020), Taipei Fine Arts Museum (2023).
Christophe De Jaeger (b. 1979) is an art historian and curator with a specialization in contemporary art and collaborative practices bridging art and research. In 2009, he founded Gluon, an elementary force uniting artists and researchers to cultivate artistic endeavors exploring science and technology. Gluon facilitates artist residencies within corporations and research institutions. The nexus between Brussels, a cosmopolitan hub, and Europe is integral to his work, as is his emphasis on engaging the youthful and diverse young generations of this vibrant city.
Art in Public Spaces
A talk with Carine Fol, Anna Raimondo, Oliver Barbé, moderated by Kathleen Weyts
As part of the Monumental Artworks artistic project, a conversation moderated by Kathleen Weyts, Editor in Chief of Glean, is organized about art in public space.
Various artists will share their approach and experiences, from the complexity of setting up a project to the reception of the works by the field of contemporary art and the public.
What role can galleries play in this context? Does public art follow the international market and trends?
How does a local authority (the City of Brussels) set up an artistic program, and on the basis of which philosophy and what procedures?
Carine Fol (BE) is Doctor in Art History (VUB/ULB), curator and author of several essays and books on outsider art and contemporary art. In 2015, she published From Art Brut to Art without Boundaries, Skira, Milan and L’art brut en question, CFC, Brussels.
She worked in several Brussels Art Institutions (Goethe Institut – Botanique – Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium) and was director of art & marges museum (2000-2011) and of the CENTRALE for contemporary art (2012-2022).
Her practice as a curator has developed in parallel with her scientific and empirical research on the “margins” of art. For more than 25 years, she has been building bridges between outsider and insider art through projects in Belgium and abroad.
Since late 2023, she is curator for art in public space for the City of Brussels and works together with the consultative council of experts (CAU) founded on the initiative of artist Tapta in 1996.
She is member of IKT (International Association of Curators of Contemporary Art) and AICA (International Association of Art Critics), of several boards and committees and was external consultant for the contemporary art collection of the National Bank of Belgium (2018- 2024).
Anna Raimondo (Born in Italy in 1981. She lives in Brussels and works internationally).
Anna Raimondo is a sound artist and performer with an MA in Sound Arts (UAL, London, UK). She is currently pursuing a practice-based PhD between the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (ARBA) and ULB University in Brussels, focusing on feminist approach in sound art with her research project titled “Do We Have Feminist Ears? Toward a Gendered Listening to Voices and Silences.”
Her work has been featured in several international biennials, festivals and shows, including: Malta Biennale (2024); MCA Museum, Shanghai (2023); Casino Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg (2022); Biennale Nova at CWBI, Paris (2022); Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels (2021); Galleria Nazionale, Rome (2021), manifesta13 in Marseille (2020), the 13th Dakar Biennial (2018), Casa del Bicentenario in Buenos Aires (2018); documenta14 at SAVVY Gallery in Berlin (2017); etc.
Raimondo’s participatory sound art project *“Q(ee)R Codes – New Boundaries Bxl 1000”* was commissioned by the City of Brussels for public space. Her work also joins the collection at the Contemporary Art Museum TEA in Spain and also other personal collections. She has received awards, including the Marval Collection Prize at SWAB Art Fair in Barcelona (2024), the City Prize at the Médiatine Contemporary Art Prize (2018), and the Palma Ars Acustica Prize (2016).
Oliver Barbé (Ghent, 1988) co-founded the gallery with a partner in 2018 in the center of Ghent, with a focus on curated group exhibitions without artist representation. It wasn’t until two years later that they chose to transition into a representative, promotional primary art gallery and began developing its own program. In 2023, Oliver took sole leadership of the gallery and opened a second space in Ghent. The gallery currently represents 11 artists and participates in four art fairs in 2025.
Art and Digital: Friends or Foes?
By Projets Media with Marc Beyney-Sonier (Projets Media), Lucile Crosetti (Palais de Tokyo), Anne Schwanz (Office IMPART), and David Sellam (DOCENT).
Moderated by Marie Maertens (independent art critic & curator).
Digital technology has become a key player in the artistic ecosystem, offering unprecedented opportunities for creation, distribution and access to art, but it also raises a number of questions. How do artists, gallerists, curators and the media adopt these tools? What are the concrete benefits and limits of digital technology in the art market and in art mediation?
Lucile Crosetti leads the digital strategy of Palais de Tokyo, where she has served as Head of Digital Communication since 2020. She oversees content production, the complete redesign of the website, and the implementation of a digital responsibility approach.
She also develops projects at the intersection of contemporary art and digital cultures, such as La Friche #3, a residency programme focused on digital commons, carried out in close collaboration with artists and collectives. A graduate of Estienne and CELSA, she has also worked for the Futur·e·s festival and the media outlet Usbek & Rica.
She explores new formats (Twitch, TikTok, generative AI) as part of a broader commitment to accessibility, responsible innovation, and critical storytelling.
Founder Of Projets Média and InstanT production, Marc Beyney-Sonier has been working as a journalist for over ten years. He began his career at Radio Nova, before contributing to L’Officiel, Condé Nast, Madame Figaro, and Museum TV. In 2021 he started Projets Media, a multi-platform outlet (video, podcast, and editorial) dedicated to contemporary art and emerging scenes worldwide. The platform now brings together a network of over thirty journalists across the globe.
He also runs InstanT Productions, a creative agency specializing in digital strategyand content production. For more than a decade, the agency has supported major public and private institutions, biennials, art fairs, and galleries. Its clients include the Centre Pompidou, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Art Basel Paris, Reiffers Art Initiatives, Paris Photo, Fondation Pernod Ricard, Palais de Tokyo, Fondation Art Explora, the Société Générale Collection, Almine Rech, Continua, Pilar Corrias, and Villa Hegrain AlUla. The agency also advises fashion and lifestyle brands in their cultural strategies, including ICICLE, Mugler, Sézane, and The Kooples.
An art historian trained at the Sorbonne, Marie Maertens is an independent curator, art critic, and journalist. Her latest exhibition, Leaving the Island, was designed for the Hi flow space in Geneva. She previously served as artistic director of the Bordeaux Art & Design fair and the resident artists at the Fondation Fiminco, which led to the exhibition Odyssées Urbaines. In 2022, she curated Power Flower at 109 as part of the Nice Biennale and in 2020, she curated the exhibition American Women, the Infinite Journey at the Patinoire Royale in Brussels, on American women artists, and previously The Surface of the East Coast-initiated at 109 in Nice in the summer of 2017 — in five Manhattan galleries and a talk at the French Embassy in New York. She regularly collaborates with the media outlets Connaissance des arts and Projets Media, writing critical texts and interviews with artists, gallery owners, and exhibition curators, as well as videos and podcasts with visual artists and art market players. She has collaborated with the magazines Art Press, Le Journal des arts, L’Officiel Art, Zérodeux, and is the author of texts and interviews published in various catalogs and magazines. Her writings can also be read on her website: mariemaertens.com
Anne Schwanz lives and works in Berlin. She studied art, art history and pedagogics and graduated in 2004 at the Caspar David Friedrich Institute, Greifswald University.
In 2004, she began working at Galerie EIGEN + ART in Berlin and, as a Senior Director, was involved in all major developments and projects. From 2015 to the end of 2017, she co-led the EIGEN + ART Lab, the gallery’s project space, with Johanna Neuschäffer.
In 2018, Anne and Johanna co-founded their own gallery, OFFICE IMPART, a multi-dimensional space for contemporary art. The gallery is strongly rooted in themes such as digitalisation, transparency, and innovation in the art world.
Beyond curating exhibitions, they also act as critical observers of a rapidly evolving art market, developing new mediation formats such as the talk festival Good To Talk and the masterclass “How to Live with Art.” Anne is also co-founder of the ART+TECH Report 2020 research.
David Sellam is the Chief Operating Officer of DOCENT, the ultimate art companion, blending human curation and AI to guide art enthusiasts from inspiration to confident art collecting. Founded in 2020, DOCENT is anchored in an extensive international network of over 150 galleries and more than 2,000 renowned artists, bringing refined curation to its members.
David initially comes from the luxury fashion industry, having spent 12 years at LVMH and Farfetch in Hong Kong and London. With a passion for building partnerships in the creative industries, he leverages technology and business strategies to empower creatives, positioning the Paris-based startup as a voice amplifier for artists.