BRUSSELS.- His name is not well known, yet his works are an integral part of Belgium’s urban landscape. Jacques Moeschal (1913-2004) is the artist who designed the monumental concrete signals that mark the Belgian motorway network.

But there is far more to his work, too little known to the general public. This is why BOZAR, together with curators Angelique Campens and Architecture Curating Practice, have decided to honour this Belgian sculptor and architect in an exhibition entirely devoted to him.

It’s the ideal opportunity to discover the creative world of this artist, who was able to break down the boundaries between sculpture, architecture and landscape.

Belgian architect and sculptor Jacques Moeschal was an international pioneer in the development and installation of monumental concrete sculptures on the side of motorways.

Initially trained as an architect, then as a sculptor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels, Moeschal is seen as an “architect’s artist” – not only because he adapted elements of architectural design, or monumental aspects into his art, but also because of his practical work as an architect.

Moeschal created an extensive collection of public sculptures in Belgium from the late 1950s onwards, especially for the city of Brussels – the paintings on the rough concrete walls and ceiling of the Gare du Midi metro station and the Signal motorway sculpture at the edge of the city are the best known. The concrete motorway signals are the artist’s trademark, illustrating his desire to mark the road as a public and communal space of modernity.

Moeschal first came to public attention when he took part in the 1958 World Fair with the civil engineering pavilion. As a result, he then became involved in several Belgian pavilions abroad, travelling both as an architect and a sculptor, which enabled him to develop an international career.




BOZAR PAYS TRIBUTE TO MOESCHAL

The exhibition at BOZAR aims to show in detail the complete lifecycle of his works, from the design and construction phase to their current situation. The exhibition features precious archive materials, such as sketches, technical drawings, models, photographs, and video documents, as well as contemporary images.

The exhibition invites contemporary artists including Kasper Akhøj, Barney Kulok and Ann Veronica Janssens to demonstrate how Moeschal’s work remains relevant today.

The exhibition is accompanied by a publication, which highlights the relationship between architecture and sculpture in the work of Jacques Moeschal. This book aims to put a ‘forgotten’ figure in Belgian architectural and art history back on the international map.

CURATORS AND PARTNERS

This exhibition is a co-production by BOZAR and Architecture Curating Practice. The curator and initiator of the project is Angelique Campens, supported by co-curators Iwan Strauven and Roxane Le Grelle. The exhibition was organised in collaboration with the CIVA archive centre, and supported by Vlaamse Overheid, Urban.Brussels, FEBELCEM, City of Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region.

Angelique Campens is an independent art historian, writer, educator and curator whose research focuses on sculptural concrete, the interaction between sculpture and architecture in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the deployment of sculpture in public space.

Iwan Strauven and Roxane Le Grelle are two of the founding members of the Architecture Curating Practice association, which is active in the field of architectural culture. This representation of architecture is expressed – critically and discursively – through the production of