BRUSSELS.- On the occasion of Art Nouveau Brussels 2023, Bozar, in collaboration with the Horta Museum, presents an exhibition exploring the architectural approach of Belgian architect Victor Horta (1861-1947).

Through archival documents, photographs, plans, original sketches, and models, the audience will get a picture of the underlying structure of Horta’s architectural language through the course of nine chapters. Various buildings are featured – from bourgeois houses like the Tassel House to public buildings like the Palais des Beaux-Arts (Centre for Fine Arts) or the Waucquez department store. The exhibition also focuses on the broader social context in which Horta created his projects.

The Palais des Beaux-Arts rose up in the centre of Brussels in 1929. Its overall design was sketched out by Victor Horta and may count as one of the highlights of his career. The Centre is therefore the location of choice for an exhibition that shines light on the oeuvre of one of Belgium’s most influential architects.

Through nine consecutive rooms, this exhibition examines Horta’s grammar of Art Nouveau created between 1893 and 1903. Each room will focus on one of Horta’s buildings, around which a recurring theme or aspect of his design method will be elaborated.

The first three rooms deal with Horta’s world of thought and life: the architectural references he brought together in the invention of Art Nouveau (Hôtel Tassel), the three successive studios as sites of design (the studio-house on Rue Américaine), and the network of clients for whom he built (Maison Vinck).

The next three rooms deal with fundamental architectural themes present in both his Art Nouveau work and his later realisations. These include the dynamic plan construction around natural light sources (Hôtel Aubecq), the ambiguity between inside and outside (Waucquez department store), and the rhetorical use of structure (Maison du Peuple).

The final rooms explore the link to the wider era in which Horta’s work was created: the exceptional wealth of young Belgian industrial capitalism is addressed with the Hôtel Solvay, the link between Horta’s Art Nouveau and Congo Free State is questioned focusing on the Hôtel Van Eetvelde, and on the unfinished project for the Congo Pavilion at the 1900 Paris World’s Fair. The latter is a first: based on the recently discovered plans for the pavilion, a model was realised especially for the exhibition.

Some contemporary artists offer a current look at Horta’s work. Photographer Maxime Delvaux created new photos of several Horta buildings. Marie-Ange Guilleminot’s film Vivre la maison Horta premieres in conjunction with the exhibition and can be viewed in the exhibition rooms. At last, French-Canadian artist Kapwani Kiwanga creates new work, a rug with a decorative floral pattern that refers to the ornamental Art Nouveau style (on display from 10.11.23 > 10.03.24 in the Salle du Conseil).

Victor Horta and the Grammar of Art Nouveau is curated by Benjamin Zurstrassen, director of the Horta Museum, and Iwan Strauven, professor of architectural theory at the ULB. A publication published by Mercatorfonds and Bozar Books, featuring essays by several national and international Horta experts such as Aniel Guxholi, Deborah Silverman, and Dirk van de Vijver, will also appear on the occasion of the exhibition. Those experts also provide additional explanations via ‘talking head’ videos in the exhibition rooms .

The exhibition is accompanied by a free children’s-sized visitor’s guide designed by Jonathan Mangelinckx and written by Borys Delobbe. ‘Mr Artono’ takes the smallest visitors on an exploration of the rooms.

The exhibition ties in nicely with the exhibition Victor Horta versus Art Nouveau. Horta’s Vocabulary which runs from 23 March 2023 to 7 January 2024 at the Horta Museum.

Bozar
Victor Horta and the Grammar of Art Nouveau
October 18th, 2023 - January 14th, 2024