Cultural Compass: Painters push boundaries, the Amazon comes to Brussels and artistic dialogue

Every Sunday, Belga English picks its favourite events from the cultural agenda. This week: Contemporary painters take over SMAK, a photographer's full immersion in the Amazon and 700 years of art history in dialogue at KMSKA.

Painting after Painting: A contemporary survey from Belgium, 4 April-2 November, SMAK, Ghent

Painting After Painting brings together over 70 contemporary painters, offering a snapshot of recent trends in the medium. While artists draw from past motifs and techniques, they also push boundaries, exploring themes of identity, politics and daily life or embracing abstraction and formalism. The exhibition highlights painting’s ongoing evolution and its dialogue with other visual forms.

Alongside the works on display, a richly illustrated catalogue features essays by Dominic van den Boogerd and Tanja Boon. Additionally, SMAK will transform Room 1 into an interactive painting studio, inviting visitors, including groups and schools, to engage with the medium first-hand.

Sebastião Salgado: Amazônia, 4 April-31 October, Tour & Taxis, Brussels

For seven years, photographer Sebastião Salgado journeyed through the Brazilian Amazon, travelling by boat and air to capture its breathtaking landscapes, winding rivers, towering mountains and the Indigenous communities who call it home.

Immersing himself in this profound environment, he documented the immense power of nature, producing striking images that evoke both its beauty and fragility. Many of these photographs are being unveiled to the public for the first time in the Amazônia exhibition.

Beyond its visual impact, the exhibition offers a sensory experience, incorporating testimonials from local communities and an immersive soundscape by Jean-Michel Jarre composed from recordings of the Amazon. The rustling of trees, the calls of birds and the roar of cascading water bring the rainforest to life.

Collected with Vision: Private Collections in Dialogue with the Old Masters, 4 April-12 October, KMSKA, Antwerp

Post-war and contemporary art joins forces with KMSKA’s generous collection of old masters to create a dialogue based on 700 years of art history. While the 19th-century halls house traditional portraits and classical figures, this exhibition introduces contemporary works that challenge, contrast or complement them.

By juxtaposing past and present, Collected with Vision invites visitors to explore the evolving role of collectors and museums. Does the exchange between old and new create harmony, or do the contrasts provoke? This carefully curated selection offers a rare glimpse into hidden artistic treasures while questioning how collections shape art history.

Pride and Solace: Medieval Books of Hours and their Readers, ​
​4 April-7 October, Bruges public library

This special collection at the Bruges public library features rarely seen medieval books of hours, paintings and artefacts. To protect these fragile treasures, the displayed pages will change on 2 July, offering visitors a fresh perspective with each visit.

Books of hours, filled with exquisite miniatures and heartfelt prayers, were once more precious than jewels, believed to protect their owners from misfortune and secure their place in the afterlife. They also served as status symbols, as influential patrons commissioned portraits of themselves holding these prized possessions in works by masters like Petrus Christus and Hans Memling. Beyond their beauty, this exhibition reveals the deeper meaning of these medieval bestsellers.

Asia(n diaspora): Challenging the Western Gaze, 31 March, Muntpunt, Brussels

Join a thought-provoking discussion on the experiences and identities of the Asian diaspora in Belgium, marking International Day Against Racism.

The conversation will delve into the lasting effects of historical narratives such as the model-minority myth, white supremacy and the "Yellow Peril" stereotype, considering their impact on Asian radicalisation and representation today. It will also address the specific dynamics of these issues in Belgium, shedding light on how Western perspectives shape Asian community-building. Beyond analysis, the event will focus on action working towards a more equitable future.

(MOH)

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