Paradise Lost?

Alphonse Balat at the heart of two linked exhibitions

Two fascinating exhibitions focus on the work of Alphonse Balat, the King's architect and mentor to Victor Horta. Paradise Lost? – Alphonse Balat, The King’s Architect” runs from 5 September to 25 October at Meise Botanic Garden. “Inspired By – Alphonse Balat, The King’s Architect” can be seen from 12 September to 8 November at Galerie Art and Design Productions in Kortrijk.

Balat and the architecture of iron and glass

“Paradise Lost?” places Balat’s work in the context of the nineteenth century, when iron and glass created new architectural possibilities. Highlights include the Balat Greenhouse in Meise, his first realised project, and the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. The exhibition also explores the influence of Balat, and later Victor Horta, on the relationship between architecture, nature and landscape.

More information about Paradise Lost? can be found here.

“Inspired By”, art inspired by the Royal Greenhouses

In Kortrijk, “Inspired By” brings together three artists for the first time around the theme of the Royal Greenhouses of Laeken. The exhibition features 35 works by François Schuiten, Hans Soenen and Piet Bekaert (†), including watercolours, oil paintings, drawings, lithographs and digigraphies. Several images and fragments are also included in the exhibition in Meise.

Click here for more information about Inspired By – Art and Design Productions.