Sol LeWitt, new expo at Jewish Museum of Belgium

The Jewish Museum of Belgium opens a brand new exhibition dedicated to Sol LeWitt. Wall Drawings, Works on Paper, Structures (1968 – 2002) will be on display until 01.05.2022. The expo is curated by Barbara Cuglietta, director of Jewish Museum, and Stephanie Manasseh, founder of Accessible Art Fair (ACAF) and SM Art Advisory.

An exhibition which is the result of more than two years of work and research involving the Sol LeWitt Foundation in the USA and galleries and private collection across Belgium and Europe. Stephanie Manasseh shared her observation on this occasion:

“I had the pleasure of spending time at the Sol LeWitt Foundation, Yale University and with Sol’s family, his wife Carol and daughter Sofia, who offered me wonderful insight into the artist’s life.”

Sol LeWitt is one of the most influential conceptual artists and pioneer of minimal art, every major museum or private collection in the world owns at least one of his works. Sol LeWitt is mostly known for his 1,350 Wall Drawings, comprising approximatively 3,500 installations, disseminated in over 1,200 locations, but also for the work as a sculptor with his famous Structures. 

One might wonder why a Sol LeWitt exhibition in Brussels and at the Jewish Museum? Barbara Cuglietta, one of the curators and director of the museum, explains it well:

“Through the stories told in the exhibition, the way in which secularism and spirituality can meet within Judaism and the power of personal relationships in artistic creation will be highlighted.”

The exhibition also addresses another forgotten aspect of Sol LeWitt’s career: the close relationships that the artist developed throughout his career with collectors, gallery owners and artists based in Belgium. Amongst other things, Wall Drawing #138, first produced in Brussels in the MTL gallery – which played a pioneering role in the introduction of conceptual art in Belgium – will be presented, as well as Sol LeWitt’s collaboration with the architect Charles Vandenhove on the design of the University Hospital in Liège.

Recreating the Wall Drawings on the walls of the Jewish Museum it has been a participatory experience, bringing together young artists and art students based in Brussels alongside professional draftsmen from the LeWitt studio. For each wall drawing, teams were formed around a professional assistant who accompanied and guided the apprentices.

It is an exhibition that will give the visitor a new perspective on the work of Sol LeWitt, with a wide stratification of keys of reading that can be enjoyed by everyone, from art lovers to the specialists. If you like colorful and immersive installations, the Wall Drawings will leave you in awe, you can explore the relationship between contemporary art and spirituality and have a glimpse on the history of contemporary collecting in Belgium.

For more info you can visit the Brussels museum website.

Article contributor: Salvatore Constantino