The Brussels Antiques & Fine Arts Fair (BRAFA) celebrates its 70th anniversary this year. The fair features 130 galleries offering a diverse range of art, from fossils to tribal masks, jewelry, furniture, and paintings from various eras. Abstract artists like Georges Matthieu, Maurice Estève, and Simon Hantaï are prominently featured.
One of the most distinctive booths showcases 70 works from the estate of Pol Bury, known for his sculptures animated by electric motors. Bury also created portrait ‘softenings’ by physically distorting prints before rephotographing them. René Magritte’s lithograph “Les bijoux indiscrets” (Indiscreet Jewellery) references Diderot’s satire, where a magic ring makes women’s jewels speak.
The piece depicts a bracelet appearing to declaim secrets of the artist’s hand in a surrealist fashion. Gioielleria Nardi from Venice presents a contemporary brooch featuring a carved black coral bust adorned with diamonds, amethysts, pearls, and sapphires. The piece reflects Venice’s rich cultural tapestry and historical intercontinental trade.
Flemish artist Jacques de Braeckeleer’s terra cotta bust of Jacques Vekemans, the second director of Antwerp’s zoo, is notable for its extravagantly sculptural hair, reshaping the subject’s face uniquely.
Brafa anniversary celebrates diverse artistry
Andy Warhol’s screenprint “Untitled (Marilyn)” blanks out Marilyn Monroe’s face, making a potent statement on celebrity culture.
Even without seeing her visage, Marilyn’s iconic status shines through. Hans Bellmer’s late pencil drawing, possibly depicting a face, breast, or spider, showcases his minimalistic surrealism. The piece originates from the collection of renowned Picasso biographer John Richardson.
Karel Appel’s acrylic on embossed paper, “Visage,” represents the CoBrA group’s ideals with its primary colors and impasto brushwork. The embossed paper adds dimensionality that enhances the work’s self-framing. A 19th-century Ishyeen Imaalu mask from the Congo is distinguished by its projecting eyes and the anonymity it provides the wearer, essential for the human-turned-god figure in ritual dances.
A geometric-faced cottonwood doll from the Hopi culture, representing a Ma’alo Dancer, teaches Native American children about the spirit world and the importance of rain and harvests. Stefaan De Croock, initially known as street artist ‘Strook,’ collages wood to create faces imbued with history. His works, seen as monuments to memory, suggest how reality is colored by experience.
BRAFA 2025 continues until February 2nd at Brussels Expo, offering visitors a unique opportunity to explore a wide range of art from various cultures and eras.
