main partners
24—27.04.25 Brussels Expo
main partners
Karl Karner, KÄ r, 2024 / Galerie Kandlhofer
Monumental Artworks
Art Brussels presents Monumental Artworks, an initiative dedicated to large-scale sculptures and installations. This special selection will feature ambitious works displayed both outdoors in front of Hall 5 and indoors in designated open spaces within the fair, creating striking focal points throughout the event.
Curated by Carine Fol, an expert in art in public spaces for the City of Brussels, Monumental Artworks provides participating galleries with the opportunity to exhibit pieces that transcend the traditional booth format. These commanding installations will enhance the fair’s visual landscape and offer visitors a dynamic encounter with works that push the boundaries of scale and presence.
With Monumental Artworks, Art Brussels continues to champion innovative artistic expressions, reinforcing its role as a leading platform for contemporary art.
— Willem Boel, 'Sancho Don’t Care #05', 2017 / Concrete mixer, iron, paint, tape, cable, aluminum, mesh, cast iron, wood, plastic, rope, 1100 x 1100 x 800 cm. Represented by Barbé (booth #5A-20).
— Rui Chafes, 'I Carry You Inside Me Like A Wound', 2000 / Iron, 96 x 74 x 800 cm. Represented by GALERIA FILOMENA SOARES (booth #5D-12).
— Giorgio Griffa, 'Linee orizzontali', 1974 / Acrylic on canvas, 74 x 656.5 cm. Represented by Xavier Hufkens (booths #5C-33 & 5C-35).
— Karl Karner, 'KÄ r', 2024 / Aluminium, 250 x 205 x 205 cm. Represented by Galerie Kandlhofer (booth #6D-08).
— KRJST Studio (Erika Schillebeeckx & Justine de Moriamé), 'Cosmogony', 2022 / Jacquard and hand weaving, mixed fabric, 1000 x 250 cm. Represented by Galerie La Forest Divonne (booth #5A-46).
— Jonathan Meese, 'DR. SAUGERZ DE KUNST (DER ERZROSAROTEPAULCHENPANTHERZ DE LARGE GÄHNT)', 2021 / Bronze, patinated, painted, 232 x 158 x 100 cm + 15 x 95 x 105 cm (steel plinth). Represented by Tim Van Laere Gallery (booth #5C-36).
— Jean-Bernard Métais, 'Komolebi', 2018 / Perforated metal and epoxy paint, 360 x 100 x 90 cm. Represented by Galerie La Forest Divonne (booth #5A-46).
— Hilde Overbergh, 'A Continuous Perceptual Present', 2025 / Metal construction, digital photo print on PVC panel, insulation board, clamps, cardboard, found brick material, 280 x 270 x 75 cm. Represented by Whitehouse Gallery (booth #5A-47).
— Joost Pauwaert, 'Rocket', 2024 / Steel, patinated copper, 700 x 160 x 160 cm. Represented by Barbé (booth #5A-20).
— Thomas Schönauer, 'Cultivator 23', 2021 / Stainless steel sculpture (Glass Blasted – Matte), 305 x 295 x 455 cm. Represented by Dan Galeria (booth #6A-18).
— Tapta, 'Découper / assembler / appuyer', 1980s / Neoprene with bolts and nuts, circa 195 x 160 x 93 cm (in 3 pieces). Represented by Maurice Verbaet Gallery (booth #5C-50 and 5C-52).
— Tapta, 'Néoflexible', 1985 / Neoprene with bolts and nuts, circa 180 x 700 x 60 cm. Represented by Maurice Verbaet Gallery (booth #5C-50 and 5C-52).
— Antoine Waterkeyn, 'A Day is Done', 2025 / Acrylic, lacquer, medium and (iridescent) pigments on wooden ladders, dimensions variable. Represented by FRED&FERRY (booth #6C-22).
— Arthur Vandergucht, 'FR04', 2025 / Aluminium, 160 x130 x 350 cm. Represented by De Brock (booth #5B-23).
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.
The aim is to respond to the cultural and social changes and to contribute to the development of the integration of site specific artworks to enrich the collection of nearly 40 artworks. To offer more interaction with the population and the visitors, the focus will be placed on gender equality, cultural diversity, and current actual subjects. These topics will contribute to develop a more global and coherent territorial and narrative vision for the multicultural Brussels metropolis.
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).
Selection of monographic exhibitions: Regine Verougstraete (Chapelle des Brigitinnes, 1992), Bernard Garbert (Chapelle des Brigitinnes, 1993), Doris Halfmann (Chapelle des Brigittines, 1995), Henri Michaux (Botanique, 1995), Jean Dubuffet (Botanique, 1996), , Antoine Mortier (Botanique, 2000), Martha Grunenwaldt (art & marges museum, 2002), Carlo Zinelli (art & marges museum, 2003), Paul Duhem (art & marges museum, 2004), Bispo do Rosario (art & marges, 2011), Emilio Lopez-Menchero/Esther Ferrer ( CENTRALE, 2013) , Johan Muylle (CENTRALE, 2013), Sophie Whettnall/Etel Adnan (CENTRALE, 2017), Françoise Schein (2016 & 2018), Xavier Noiret-Thomé/Henk Visch (CENTRALE, 2021), etc.
Selection of group exhibitions : Les voies de la culture européenne (BXL, Lodz, Bratislava, Berlin, 1991), Dialog (Dresden/BXL, organisation Goethe Institut, 1994), Kanttekening (Bruges, 2002) Visions singulières (BOZAR 2005 in dialogue with expo Visionary Belgium curated by Harald Szeemann), 20+20 (in 20 Belgian museums, 2006), Identities I & II (Geel, 2007&2009), Loss of control (MARTA, Herford, 2008, co-curator Jan Hoet), Esprit Mine (Centre historique minier, Lewarde, 2009), Mindscapes (CENTRALE, 2012), Loss of Control 2 (Musée Rops, Namur 2013), Distant proximity (CENTRALE, 2014), MONSens (BAM, Mons, 2015, co-curator Yolande De Bontridder), Connection (CENTRALE, 2016), BXL UNIVERSEL I & II (CENTRALE, 2016, in 2021 with co-curator Tania Nasielski) , Traces de l’invisible (CWB, 2022), etc.
“For the second year running, Art Brussels is collaborating with the City of Brussels to present a selection of monumental sculptures by Belgian and international artists, based on gallery proposals, in front of the Palais 5 at Brussels Expo. Inside the fair, the artist Tapta, who initiated the City of Brussels’ Urban Art Committee in 1996 with the support of the College of the Mayor, Aldermen and Alderwomen, will be honored. This year’s selection reveals 13 artworks that are strongly rooted in the present-time and are formally oscillating between minimalism, expressionism and assemblage, etc. The artists give expression to formal and existential questions, certainties and uncertainties in the face of a world where democracy seems to be faltering. They underline how art offers an ultimate and humanist revenge, even a message of hope, on the dominant powers.” – Carine Fol