BRUSSELS.- Albert Baronian opened his gallery in Brussels in 1973. In September 2023, the gallery celebrated its fiftieth anniversary with, amongst other events, an exhibition at Fondation CAB entitled Quinquagesimum. In 2018, Albert Baronian received the Order of Leopold. In June 2024 at Art Basel, the Federation of European Art Galleries Associations (FEAGA) also granted him the Lifetime Achievement Award.
The gallery gained attention on the international scene due to its early involvement with Arte Povera and the Supports/Surfaces movement, of which it organized its first exhibitions in Belgium. At that time, the exhibition of Mario Merz remained the only one of the artist organized in Belgium. Other renowned artists also had the privilege of being exhibited for the first time in Belgium, such as Richard Nonas, Giulio Paolini, Lynda Benglis, Jack Goldstein, General Idea, to name a few.
During his time as president of the Galleries' Association of Belgium, Albert Baronian contributed to the growth and internationalization of the Brussels Art Fair which is nowadays known as Art Brussels.
In 1982, he opened a space in Ghent in collaboration with Yvon Lambert, with Chris Dercon as director, where artists like Michael Buthe, Richard Tuttle, Robert Combas and Futura 2000 were exhibited.
From 2002 to 2012, the gallery underwent a name change (Baronian-Francey) and with Edmond Francey, it organized several exhibitions featuring artists like Florian Maier-Aichen, Tony Oursler, Thomas Zipp, Chris Johanson, Gilbert & George, Robert Crumb and numerous young artists who became integral to the gallery's DNA over the years.
From 2018 to 2021, Albert Baronian partnered with Renos Xippas to form Baronian Xippas operating in Brussels and Knokke. Featuring artists like Leandro Erlich, Vik Muniz, Takis and James Siena.
In December 2023, the gallerist was invited as curator for the reopening of the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris curating the exhibition Hérétiques including fifteen artists, mostly emerging, in the Franco-Belgian scene.
Following this experience, he will not leave the art scene. He wants to use his expertise and enthusiasm for a new challenge as a curator. Albert Baronian sees this transition as an opportunity to pursue his passion for contemporary art.
In fact, in September of this year, the Centre d'Art Bonisson in Rognes, in the south of France, commissioned him for an exhibition with Olivier Mosset, Lionel Estève, Charlotte vander Borght and Alain Biltereyst.