King Philippe of Belgium spent an afternoon looking at an art exhibition at the MOU Museum in Oudenaarde.
The facility, located in the small town of Oudenaarde in the Eastern Flanders province, is approximately 70 kilometres west of Brussels.
His Majesty visited at the museum to receive a tour of the exhibition titled ‘Universus’, which contains a selection of art pieces by Belgian sculptor Johan Tahon.
The pieces were created by Tahon between 1999 and 2021, providing spectators with an ample spectre of the artist’s work and evolution throughout his career.
The exhibition also features a piece that was loaned by Johan Tahon to the museum from his private collection. This is the first time the piece has been seen by the public.
Mr Tahon’s work has been showcased in famous art galleries for a long time now, both in Belgium and abroad, receiving praise from observers and critics alike.
His work stems primarily from “pain”, as he states in his curriculum, and, having been born in 1965 in Menen, Belgium, currently lives split between his home country and Switzerland.
His work is described as follows on his website:
“Restless and filled with longing for the inexpressible, Johan Tahon explores the boundaries of the great unknown. Trusting in his material, technique and skill, he goes in search of the nothing that is at once everything in a manner that is as fearless as it is stubborn. Of a present that is also past and future. And of the silence that speaks volumes. Over the past few decades, Tahon has breathed life into an impressive sequence of mysterious bronze, plaster and ceramic sculptures”.
King Philippe has long been a promoter of Belgium’s cultural panorama; whether it’s art or literature, music or tourism, His Majesty always lend a hand in shining spotlights on his country’s cultural gems.
