A TRADITION of BRAFA (the Brussels Art Fair), at the Tour & Taxis building for its 65th annual outing between January 26 and February 2, is to feature an artist, foundation or institution as guest of honour. Last year, Gilbert & George had and gave great fun. This year, thanks to Harold t’Kint de Roodenbeke, the fair’s chairman, there will be a very different guest and five charities stand to benefit from it.
In the summer of 2018, he was in Nova Scotia, where he happened upon a segment of the Berlin Wall in a tiny fishing village. This improbable discovery made him think about the Wall’s symbolism and the message it conveys, even in some of the most remote places on earth. Later, he went to Berlin, where he was able to acquire some of the last available intact segments. The idea of a charity auction followed.
The Wall did not long remain the comparatively simple structure of 1961, but became a much more complex system of barriers. These five 12ft 6in high slabs (Fig 1), weighing nearly four tons each, came from the Hinterlandmauer, or inner wall, which isolated the strip across the DDR to East Berlin. After the Wall’s demolition, they were reused by a public works company based in a Berlin suburb. They have graffiti on both sides by anonymous street artists from different periods.
The slabs will be presented outside the fair’s main entrance and an auction will run for the duration. An information desk will be set up where visitors can find out about current bids and bid themselves. The auction can be followed on the website, but bidders will have to visit the fair to submit an offer, with starting prices set at €15,000 for a segment.
Denne historien er fra January 08, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 08, 2020-utgaven av Country Life UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Kitchen garden cook - Apples
'Sweet and crisp, apples are the epitome of autumn flavour'
The original Mr Rochester
Three classic houses in North Yorkshire have come to the market; the owner of one inspired Charlotte Brontë to write Jane Eyre
Get it write
Desks, once akin to instruments of torture for scribes, have become cherished repositories of memories and secrets. Matthew Dennison charts their evolution
'Sloes hath ben my food'
A possible paint for the Picts and a definite culprit in tea fraud, the cheek-suckingly sour sloe's spiritual home is indisputably in gin, says John Wright
Souvenirs of greatness
FOR many years, some large boxes have been stored and forgotten in the dark recesses of the garage. Unpacked last week, the contents turned out to be pots: some, perhaps, nearing a century old—dense terracotta, of interesting provenance.
Plants for plants' sake
The garden at Hergest Croft, Herefordshire The home of Edward Banks The Banks family is synonymous with an extraordinary collection of trees and shrubs, many of which are presents from distinguished friends, garnered over two centuries. Be prepared to be amazed, says Charles Quest-Ritson
Capturing the castle
Seventy years after Christian Dior’s last fashion show in Scotland, the brand returned under creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri for a celebratory event honouring local craftsmanship, the beauty of the land and the Auld Alliance, explains Kim Parker
Nature's own cathedral
Our tallest native tree 'most lovely of all', the stately beech creates a shaded environment that few plants can survive. John Lewis-Stempel ventures into the enchanted woods
All that money could buy
A new book explores the lost riches of London's grand houses. Its author, Steven Brindle, looks at the residences of plutocrats built by the nouveaux riches of the late-Victorian and Edwardian ages
In with the old
Diamonds are meant to sparkle in candlelight, but many now gather dust in jewellery boxes. To wear them today, we may need to reimagine them, as Hetty Lintell discovers with her grandmother's jewellery
