Histoire de ne pas rire. Surrealism in Belgium

Bozar, Centre for Fine Arts Brussels 

In the context of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Surrealist Manifesto (1924), Bozar is celebrating 100 years of surrealism with a unique exhibition dedicated to the avant-garde movement in Belgium.

In 1924, coinciding with Paris, the surrealist adventure makes its Belgian debut with the bold pamphlets of poet Paul Nougé, forming the central theme of this exceptional retrospective exhibition. Belgium’s quirky surrealists go beyond the purely aesthetic – they want to transform the world with their subversive art. Histoire de ne pas rire pays extra attention to their international interactions, the political-historical background, and important women artists.

Surrealism was themost important artistic movement of the 20th century in Belgium, and its spirit lived on long after the death of Paul Nougé and René Magritte. The movement produced no less than three generations of artists and as many visions of reality.

Starting with its title - a direct reference to Paul Nougé's book (published by Marcel Mariën in 1956) - the exhibition is full of facetious and often provocative humour.

Histoire de ne pas rire features works by René Magritte, Jane Graverol, Marcel Mariën, Rachel Baes, E.L.T. Mesens, Leo Dohmen, Paul Delvaux as well as Max Ernst, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio De Chirico and many others. About 260 paintings, objects, drawings, collages, photographs and over 100 documents, magazines, posters and pamphlets have been loaned by over 50 museums (Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, Boijmans Van Beuningen, Pinakothek München, Kunsthaus Zürich, etc.), foundations, art galleries and private collections.

In dialogue with the exhibition, Jelena Vanoverbeek presents a new video work titled "Violins" (2023). 

Also, in the framework of the exhibition, Bozar developed an artistic extra muros parcours around the Centre for Fine Arts. Bozar invited five artists– Annabelle Binnerts, Aline Bouvy, Valérie Mréjen, Laure Prouvost en Ghita Skali – to create surreal text-based artworks visible in augmented reality, floating around the Mont des Arts neighborhood.