Art Brussels 2026 has opened its doors: the first images and the announcement of the winners of the different prizes

Today, Thursday 23 April, the 42nd edition of Art Brussels opened its doors at Brussels Expo. Until Sunday, April 26, Art Brussels brings together 139 galleries from 26 countries, presented within a fully redesigned layout aimed at offering a clearer and more engaging visitor journey. The strong presence of returning exhibitors, representing 65% of the participating galleries, reflects the fair’s solid international network and helps sustain a dynamic dialogue between galleries, collectors, and audiences.

The fair is structured around five distinct sections, each offering a specific perspective on contemporary artistic production. The Prime section brings together 83 leading galleries presenting modern and contemporary masters alongside established international artists, creating a demanding and cross-generational panorama. With Solo, 26 monographic presentations invite visitors to engage deeply with individual artistic practices, offering a level of focus that is not always available in the context of an art fair.

Rooted in the history of the fair, the ’68 Forward section highlights 11 galleries exploring the diversity of artistic movements that have shaped contemporary art since 1968, the founding year of Art Brussels. Meanwhile, Discovery continues its role as a platform for emerging international talent, supporting 38 galleries through single-artist presentations or curated dialogues between under-recognised artists, offering fresh perspectives for European collectors.

The 2026 edition also introduces a new section, Horizons. Selected by Devrim Bayar, senior curator at Kanal-Centre Pompidou, seven monumental artworks will be brought together in an exhibition conceived as a scenographic parcours. Designed as a space for experimentation and reflection within the fair, it underlines Art Brussels’ commitment to ambitious artistic production presented under museum-quality conditions.

The first images of the fair can be downloaded here

WINNERS OF THE PRIZES

You can download the images of the winners here

Discovery Acquisition Prize
Supported by Moleskine

Formerly known as the Discovery Prize, this award reaffirms its commitment to supporting emerging artists and enriching museum collections.

The prize takes the form, for the second time, of an acquisition budget of up to €10,000 for the purchase of an artwork destined for a museum collection.

For the 42nd edition of the fair, the jury will select a work to be donated to the collection of the Museum of Ixelles. The selected artwork will be included in the museum’s inaugural exhibition in early 2027, marking its reopening after more than eight years of renovation.

Jury members of the Discovery Acquisition Prize are:

Claire Leblanc, Museum Director, Museum of Ixelles, Brussels
Horya Makhlouf, Curator of Spacious Projects and Artistic Coordinator, Palais de Tokyo, Paris
Gregory Thirion, Head of Exhibitions, Le Botanique, Brussels

The jury is pleased to announce the acquisition of works by Kasper De Vos, Lena Marie Emrich, and Alejandra Caicedo. These acquisitions reflect the Ixelles Museum’s intention to strengthen the dialogue between its historical heritage and emerging contemporary creation. In anticipation of its reopening in March 2027, the museum is consolidating its artistic narrative by integrating voices that question the object, the body, and territory—three pillars of its collection.

A few words about Kasper De Vos, represented by Pizza Gallery from Antwerp and Ghent
His work explores folklore, local history, and art through a conceptual and poetic lens. His inclusion helps bridge the museum’s 19th- and 20th-century Belgian art collections (such as surrealism or abstraction), by reinterpreting the codes of popular culture and everyday materials.

About Lena Marie Emrich, represented by OFFICE IMPART from Berlin
A sculptor based between Brussels and Berlin, she creates objects with smooth, industrial finishes that examine resilience and human interaction. Her work brings a minimalist “object-sculpture” dimension that resonates with the multidisciplinary contemporary ensembles already present at Ixelles.

About Alejandra Caicedo, represented by Tom Reichstein from Hamburg
An Afro-Latin American artist, she works on migration, identity, and memory through painting and sculpture. Her approach introduces a necessary political and intimate perspective, enriching the museum’s 21st-century art panorama by offering a contemporary counterpoint to the collection’s more classical themes.

The Ixelles Museum will present these three acquisitions in March 2027 for its reopening and wishes to thank Moleskine and Art Brussels for their support in this acquisition.

68 Forward Prize
Supported by Natan

Winning Gallery: Einspach & Czapolai Fine Art - Booth 5C-47
Artist(s): Orshi Drozdik

Einspach & Czapolai Fine Art, Orshi Drozdik at Art Brussels © Martin Pilette For Bureau Rouge

Awarded to the gallery presenting the best booth in the ’68 Forward section, this prize grants the winning gallery €5.000.

Jury members of the ’68 Forward Prize are:

Alain Lombard, President of Lee Ufan Foundation in Arles and General Delegate of ADIAF, Arles - Prix Marcel Duchamp, Paris
María Inés Rodríguez, Director of the Walter & Nicole Leblanc Foundation, Brussels and Artistic Director of Tropical Papers, France.
lIse Roosens, Curator, Mu.ZEE, Ostend

We welcome Art Brussels’ initiative to devote a section to artists whose work is important, even if it has not always been recognised at its true value. We also extend our thanks to all the galleries for the quality of their work and the commitment they show.

The 68 Forward Prize is awarded to Einspach & Czapolai Fine Art, who represent Orshi Drozdik. Through a feminist practice rooted in performance, printmaking and drawing, the artist uses the figure of the model to question codes of representation, regimes of the gaze and the construction of knowledge, with remarkable critical precision.

Solo Prize
Supported by TheMerode

Winning Gallery: Settantotto (Ghent) - Booth 5E-18
Artist: herman de vries (he writes his name without caps)

Settantotto (Gent), herman de vries © Martin Pilette For Bureau Rouge

The best Solo artist at the fair will be awarded the Solo Prize, supported by TheMerode, comprised of a cash prize of ˆ15,000 given to the artist. The selection will be made by a professional jury, and the prize will also be awarded on the opening day of the fair.

Jury members of the Solo Prize are:

Katerina Gregos, Artistic Director, EMST | National Museum of Contemporary Art Athens
Sofia Lemos, Curator of Contour Biennale 11 (Mechelen), Curator & Writer, Barcelona
Gabi Ngcobo, Director, Kunstinstituut Melly, Rotterdam

Acknowledging the relevance and coherence of his practice, the jury awards the Solo Prize to herman de vries. The jury found the presentation offered a focused and in-depth insight into a timeless oeuvre characterised by simplicity, modesty, and a longstanding ecological conscience, highlighting both the beauty and fragility of nature. With over sixty years of practice, the sensibility with which his works speak across different generations reveals a much needed recognition of the values needed to navigate an increasingly complex world.

First images of Art Brussels 2026 (download them here)