BRAFA 2020 JANUARY 26 – FEBRUARY 2, 2020

GALERIE DE LA BÉRAUDIÈRE - STAND 81C PRESS RELEASE

For this new edition of BRAFA, Galerie de la Béraudière is pleased to present a selection of works by US artist Keith Haring (1958–1990), who will be honoured at BOZAR in 2020.

Well known to the general public for his idiosyncratic and subversive graphic style as well as for his predilection for alternative supports, Keith Haring enjoyed a career that was as dazzling as it was productive. He is often presented as the artist who never stopped drawing. Considered one of the representatives of American pop art – alongside Warhol, Basquiat, Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns – Haring saw art as a universal means of communication that made it possible to reach a wide audience.

A little-known fact is that the New York pop artist stayed several times in – more specifically in Antwerp and Knokke – between 1987 and 1990. Invited by Gallery 121 in Antwerp (founded by Emmy Tob and Monique Perlstein), which exhibited his work in 1983 already, and by the Knokke-based collector Roger Nellens, who commissioned an exhibition for the Knokke Casino, the artist quickly felt ‘at home’ in Belgium. Among his ‘Belgian’ creations, let’s mention the mural fresco in the cafeteria of M HKA in Antwerp and the container of the local surf school in Knokke (which has now been moved).

Keith HARING, Untitled, 1984, Gouache and black ink on paper, 60 x 80 cm Keith HARING, Untitled (dolphin), 1983, ink on paper, 21,6 x 25,4 cm

In parallel, the gallery will exhibit several works by surrealist artists, among others , one of the movement’s key figures.

The work Colombe blanche is emblematic of the artist’s body of work, in both iconographic and technical terms. Created in 1925, one year after the publication of the , this presents the image of a dove, one of the most frequently recurrent symbols or characters in Ernst’s work. It is one of the first uses of the technique of frottage, with which Ernst revolutionized painting. Another very important aspect in the history of the work is that its first owner was none other than , a close friend of Max Ernst and a fervent defender of . The canvas subsequently entered the collection of E.L.T. Mesens, an important Belgian artist and collector.

Max ERNST, Colombe blanche, 1925, oil and graphite on canvas, 65 x 50 cm

Specialized in the masters of the 20th centuries, with a keen eye for excellence and an uncompromising demand on quality, Jacques de la Béraudière and his team opened the doors of the gallery in May 2016 while keeping an office in Geneva.

Galerie de la Béraudière aims to provide painting and sculpture of museum’s standard for demanding collectors and institutions. The surrealist movement has pride of place with works of Surrealist masters such as Salvador Dali, , Paul Delvaux, Max Ernst, René Magritte, André Masson, Joan Miro, Francis Picabia or .

GALERIE DE LA BÉRAUDIÈRE

Opening hours: Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 or by appointment Address: 6 rue Jacques Jordaens, 1000 Brussels Tel: +32 2 646 92 15 Mail: [email protected] Website: www.delaberaudiere.com

Press information via Galerie de la Béraudière or Communication Pro ! Françoise Steyaert [email protected] - Tel. : +32 (0) 478 968 429

Press pictures via link: https://we.tl/t-425e29KbVA