Following Folon around Belgium

I have to admit to not having heard of Jean-Michel Folon until a few years ago when my employer at the time moved into new Brussels premises and named each of the three conference rooms after “well-known Belgians”. They came up with Rubens, Horta and Folon.

Since then I’ve noticed various Folon artworks around the city, including a 165 m2 oil on canvas at Montgomery metro station, which I saw again recently and prompted me to write this post. On the Grand Sablon in Brussels, a bronze statue of a bird towers more than 4 metres high and at Brussels airport there’s a bronze statue of a person with a propeller on top (the centre of which forms the face).

2008 was in fact the “Year of Folon” in Belgium. That said, there doesn’t appear to be any particular reason for the choice of year (Folon was born in 1934 and died in 2005); the Tourism Office simply seemed to decide to dedicate resources toward promoting the artist and his work.

Whatever the year, I can thoroughly recommend a trip to the Folon Foundation, located in the grounds of the castle of La Hulpe, about a 20-minute drive out of Brussels. You can find there illustrations and magazine covers that Folon created for the likes of The New Yorker and Time, his posters for exhibitions and festivals, watercolours, engravings next to the original copperplates, stained glass, bronze statues, the list goes on.

The foundation was inaugurated in 2000 by Folon himself and its mission is to unite and conserve a heritage: the 500 artworks donated by Jean-Michel Folon.

I’d like the next stop on my Folon discovery trail to be a little church in Wallonia, which has several stained glass windows by the Belgian artist. And you?

Photos: © Thierry Renauld (Fondation Folon)