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Magritte·Folon

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Magritte Museum
The Dream Factory As Brussels celebrates the 100th anniversary of surrealism, some of René Magritte’s works will be traveling and gracing the walls of other exhibitions and museums. The Magritte Museum is taking advantage of this period to create a dialogue between the fascinating world of René Magritte (1898−1967) and the poetic creations of Jean-Michel Folon (1934−2005).

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Magritte·Folon is more than an exhibition, it’s a dreamlike encounter and a fruitful dialogue between two unique worlds of imagination.

In 1954, Jean-Michel Folon was 20 years old. He discovered The Enchanted Domain, the series of murals Magritte had just painted for the Knokke casino. It was a revelation: ​“I thought: ​‘One can really do anything in painting. Even invent mysteries.’ That was when I encountered art”, he wrote in 1999.

Although the two artists never met, many similarities exist between their visual worlds. Folon considered Magritte, the master of Belgian surrealism and 36 years his senior, ​“one of the fathers” of his generation.

By opening the paths of mystery in painting, Magritte laid the foundations for Folon’s art, which would never cease to explore life’s poetry. This exhibition, held at the very heart of the Musée Magritte, brings together the works of these two major Belgian artists, showcasing the connections in their imagination.

A Magritte Museum exhibition in partnership with the Folon Foundation.

Credit: Jean-Michel Folon, Le rêve éveillé, (1971) Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels / photo: J. Geleyns - Art Photography