Studiolo: Jean Jullien. MIMA (Millennium Museum of Iconoclast Art) Brussels. Nov. 9th, 2023

https://www.mimamuseum.eu/jean-jullien-studiolo/

This was an enchanting and uplifting exhibition that was a highlight of my recent brief trip to Brussels. The artist is completely new to me and he had essentially taken over this fascinating iconoclastic little gallery for the show.

A significant part of the experience were the cartoon-like drawings and messages that covered the walls where he explored in marvelously vivid and accessible language what he was trying to do – a world removed from what one usually gets from artists these days when expounding their philosophy. Here it was a vital and valuable part of the whole show, beautifully knitted in with the art on the walls.

The style of the art was elegantly colourful and ranged from figures, near-abstract studies of the sky and, at the very end, a magnificent mural which managed to tell, and indirectly comment upon, a history of mankind, from the dinosaurs to the present day in a beautifully friendly style. I suppose the style could be described, technically (?) as ‘primitive’ but I would not do that as, in my experience, art described in this way is usually a synonym for ‘technically incompetent’. I have posted the photos that I took on my Facebook page (public as this review is) so I hope readers will look at it.

 

Renoir: The Painter and his Models. Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest. Nov 14th 2023

Stereopsis: Mate Orr & Sandor Racmolnar. Varfok Gallery, Budapest. Sept 26th 2023