BRAFA 2011

Alain Huberty and Marc Breyne are very aware of the importance of showcasing a work of art so that the viewer can appreciate it under optimal conditions and accordingly asked the Belgian comics author and artist Denis Deprez to design and create their stand at the BRAFA Art Fair.
Denis Deprez is a great fan of the architecture of Tadao Ando and explains: He was my starting point when I had to come up with an idea for an exhibition space, a space for viewing/interpreting the images that the Huberty & Breyne Gallery wanted to show at the Brafa. The building I chose to refer to was a Buddhist temple, one of Ando's few constructions entirely in wood.
I also wanted to give the stand a distinctive identity; for the viewer/interpreter to feel as soon as he or she enters that they are entering somewhere new and different, a space dedicated to the contemplation of images, a temple of the image in a sense. The wooden structure with slatted partitions creates a calm atmosphere, a feeling of peace that enables the focus to be entirely on the contemplation of the images shown. I then structured the space to include a T-shaped pool.

It is in just such a setting that visitors will be able to view some of the great classics of the cartoon world, grouped together by the gallery - Franquin (Gaston), Tillieux (Gil Jourdan), Giraud (Blueberry), Macherot (Chlorophylle)...
An alcove will be dedicated to each "family" of contemporary comics writers - Ledroit, Druillet and Cadelo, on the one hand; Evermeulen, Deprez and Baudouin, on the other.
François Avril's Breton landscapes and Philippe Geluck's Cat paintings will each have a space to themselves, as will François Schuiten's black-and-white Brussels cityscapes and Loustaux's Belgian coastlines; likewise the works of Manara, Götting, Varenne and Comes.