Gianin Conrad

Geoffrey de Beer

Kaspar Dejong

Marejon de Jong-Buijs

Beate Frommelt

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Having been first shown at an exhibition space in the Swiss alpine canton of Grisons “Ballroom Project” is pleased to present the exhibition «Imaginary Mountains: Remembering Painting» in Brussels. As a collaboration between an artists’ run space in an old textile factory in a small village (“Scala Trun”) and “Ballroom Project”, the exhibition aims to play with the exploration of painterly strategies in different contexts. What works in a village in the mountains also works in one of the busiest cities in Europe? How does the architectural, natural, cultural, and political circumstance influence the perception of artworks? 

Painting, the supposed «epitome of bourgeois art», still inspires and fascinates the audiences. As the most flexible, changeable, authentic, and democratic medium, painting in keeping the artistic discourse alive. Often ridiculed by art critics in the current digitalization hype (keyword: NFT), it remains the dominant medium and does not seem to be disappearing. On the contrary: the always lively and controversial debates about its raison d'être keep the medium alive and the art world discussing.

Directly or indirectly, the international artists in this exhibition explore the painterly process one way or the other - sometimes with paint on canvas, but also with glass, wood, acid and other painterly means. They are well aware of their dialectical position on painting. Gianin Conrad (CH), Geoffrey de Beer (BE), Kaspar Dejong (NL), Mariejon de Jong-Buijs (NL) and Beate Frommelt (FL) deal with the medium in very different ways, but abstract all together. Abstraction as the universal creative language? It is obvious that self-reflection is part of their creative process.