An Exceptional Panorama from Old Masters to Modern, Design and Contemporary Art

With nearly 150 galleries from 18 countries, BRAFA Art Fair 2026 confirms its status as one of Europe’s most influential art-market events. Known for its rigorous selections, cross-period narratives and museum-quality works, the Brussels fair continues to attract collectors, curators and institutions from across the world.

This year’s edition promises a remarkable balance of Old Masters, modern and contemporary art, African arts, design, and decorative arts — making BRAFA 2026 a must-see in the global art-fair calendar.

Below is a focused selection of the galleries that will define the fair in 2026, the ones international professionals are already talking about.

1. Old Masters : The Historic Anchors of the Fair

Galerie Claes (Brussels) – Stand 41

A global reference in classical African arts, Didier Claes is one of the fair’s cornerstones. Expect exceptional museum-level pieces and rare provenances that set market standards.

Galerie de Jonckheere (Switzerland) – Stand 36

Famous for its Flemish and Dutch Old Masters, the Geneva-based gallery consistently draws major collectors and curators. A highlight for anyone researching European masterworks.

Lampronti Gallery (Monaco) – Stand 70

A highly anticipated newcomer. Lampronti brings an exceptional selection of Italian and European Old Masters, strengthening BRAFA’s historical offering.

Colnaghi (UK/Spain/Belgium/USA) – Stand 40

As one of the world’s oldest art dealers, Colnaghi presents rare pieces ranging from archaeology to Old Masters — always one of the fair’s most visited stands.

2. Modern & Contemporary Art : International Highlights

La Patinoire Royale | Valérie Bach (Brussels) – Stand 053

A major Belgian institution with a strong international identity. Expect a mix of installations, painting, modern design and major European artists.

Galerie Christophe Gaillard (Paris/Brussels) – Stand 102

Known for its focus on the 1960s–1990s avant-garde, the gallery offers a powerful dialogue between historical works and contemporary creation.

MARUANI MERCIER (Brussels) – Stand 116

A leading gallery for post-war and contemporary art, emblematic of the fair’s high-level programming.

Nosbaum Reding (Luxembourg/Brussels) – Stand 141

Combining photography, installations and painting, the gallery continues to shape the contemporary scene in Brussels.

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3. Rising Galleries & Newcomers to Watch

Arte-Fact Fine Art (Belgium) – Stand 132

A promising new participant specialising in 16th–18th-century Old Masters, already noticed by institutions.

Galerie Greta Meert (Brussels) – Stand 61

A major figure of post-war and conceptual art, joining BRAFA for the first time with a highly curated selection.

Mulier Mulier Gallery (Belgium) – Stand 21

Expect a sharp selection of Arte Povera, conceptual art, Pop Art and minimalism — a highlight for collectors of post-1960 movements.

Martos Gallery (New York) – Stand 128

A surprise entry from the U.S., presenting international contemporary artists, including museum-level works generating early buzz.

4. Design & Decorative Arts: A Renewed Vision

Maisonjaune Studio (France) – Stand 136

Known for its rare design pieces from the 1950s to today, and a fresh, contemporary vision.

Laurent Schaubroeck (Belgium) – Stand 146

A reference for Brazilian modernism, featuring exceptional works by Jorge Zalszupin and Sergio Rodrigues.

MassModernDesign (Netherlands) – Stand 105

A must-see for mid-century design enthusiasts, bringing together Scandinavian and Brazilian icons.

5. Guest of Honour 2026: The King Baudouin Foundation

Celebrating its 50th anniversary, the King Baudouin Foundation presents an exceptional “ephemeral museum” featuring Belgian heritage treasures: Old Masters, jewellery, modern art and design.

Its conference programme, the KBF Art Talks, positions the foundation as a key intellectual player of the fair.

Why BRAFA Art Fair 2026 Matters on the International Scene

BRAFA 2026 stands out because it masterfully blends:

• Old Masters and contemporary artists,
• global design and Belgian heritage,
• museum-quality works and market innovations,
• an intimate scale and exceptional artistic density.

In a market dominated by mega-fairs, BRAFA maintains a refined, human-sized model — a quality that collectors appreciate and that makes it one of Europe’s most respected fairs.

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Read also

• BRAFA Art Fair 2026: Everything You Need to Know About the Edition That Will Transform the European Art Market

The BRAFA Art Fair 2026, held from January 25 to February 1, 2026 at Brussels Expo, is shaping up to be one of Europe’s major art-market events. With nearly 150 international galleries, a spectacular scenography, the exceptional presence of the King Baudouin Foundation as guest of honour, and a selection of artworks spanning five continents, the 2026 edition is already positioning itself as a must-attend fair for collectors, art lovers, and market professionals.

Why BRAFA 2026 is the art fair you can’t afford to miss this year

• A selection of 150 galleries from 18 countries
• Artworks ranging from the 15th century to cutting-edge contemporary creation
• A new fair highlight: 5 masterpieces, 5 continents
• The King Baudouin Foundation as guest of honour
• An immersive scenography inspired by the sky and the Northern Lights
• Art Talks with curators, experts, and leading market voices

With more than 72,000 visitors in 2025, BRAFA confirms its status as a major European fair — more intimate than TEFAF, more historically anchored than many emerging fairs, and increasingly innovative.

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The must-see artworks of 2026: a world tour through five masterpieces

BRAFA introduces an exceptional path across continents. Here are the five works destined to spark conversations in 2026.

Old Masters, design and iconic pieces: the key trends of BRAFA 2026

The powerful return of the Old Masters

From Rembrandt to Van Goyen, BRAFA confirms its position as Europe’s leading fair for Old Masters.

Twentieth-century design in the spotlight

Featuring:
– Serrurier-Bovy
– Louis Comfort Tiffany
– Jorge Zalszupin
– Lina Bo Bardi

Brazilian design and European avant-gardes engage in a remarkable dialogue.

“Conversation pieces”: artworks that captivate at first sight

– Yves Klein – La Terre Bleue (1957)
– A mythological Consulate-era clock (Galerie de Potter d’Indoye)
– An Egyptian Ptah-Sokar-Osiris figure (Axel Vervoordt)

Guest of Honour 2026: the King Baudouin Foundation

For its 50th anniversary, the Foundation unveils a museum-like stand, daily concerts, and an unprecedented program of talks.

👉 A rare institutional presence at a private fair.

An immersive scenography inspired by the sky

Designed by Nicolas de Liedekerke, the scenography offers a poetic, aerial atmosphere built around:

• sky-inspired colour gradients,
• lighting effects reminiscent of Northern Lights,
• suspended elements to create fluid circulation,
• and a new Hall 8 dedicated to gastronomy.

Art Talks & KBF Talks: a high-level intellectual programme

Every day, leading voices of the art market take the stage:

– Dominique & Sylvain Lévy
– Dr Michael Philipp
– Estelle De Bruyn
– Virginie Devillez
– Michiel Vervloet
– Ludwig Forrest

👉 One of the strongest conference programmes among European fairs.

Practical Information – BRAFA 2026

📅 January 25 – February 1, 2026
📍 Brussels Expo – Halls 3, 4 & 8
🕒 11:00 – 19:00
🌙 Late Opening: Thursday, January 29

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Read also:

• Luxembourg Art Week 2025
• Art Fairs 2026: The Ultimate Guide to the Major International Art Events of the Year

The Biennale Arte 2026 is already emerging as one of the major artistic events of the year. Titled In Minor Keys, this 61st edition is built on the deeply sensitive and poetic vision of Cameroonian curator Koyo Kouoh. Having passed away in May 2025, she leaves behind a project of rare coherence, driven by a simple yet powerful idea: to listen to what the world whispers rather than what it shouts.

Running from 9 May to 22 November 2026, across the Giardini, the Arsenale, and various sites throughout Venice, this Biennale promises a sensory, meditative, and deeply human experience—breaking away from the visual excess often seen in contemporary exhibitions.

“In Minor Keys”: when the Biennale chooses softness to speak about the world

At the heart of the project lies the notion of minor tonalities.
In her curatorial text, Koyo Kouoh evokes these lower frequencies—spaces where one turns toward slowness, relationship, and poetry.

Far from overwhelming statements, In Minor Keys offers:

• a sensitive, almost musical experience;
• an immersion in intimate, restorative artistic forms;
• a parcours conceived as a polyphony of voices, inspired by jazz, blues, morna, and Creole songs;
• a relational aesthetic prioritising the human, attentive listening, and the fragility of our worlds.

This 2026 Biennale does not seek to persuade, but to move.

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A free, polyphonic, organic journey

The 2026 Biennale follows an archipelago-like logic. Each artist, each work, each exhibition space becomes an island connected to the others by invisible bridges: emotions, rhythms, materials, vibrations.

Visitors will encounter:

Sensory worlds

A meditative exhibition working with slowness, silence, and resonance.

Creole gardens

Drawing from Glissant, Kouoh imagines a creolised garden: a rich, self-protective ecosystem where forms coexist, support one another, and respond.

Spaces of care

The works become oases in a world saturated with crises.

A festival of ensembles

Rather than a single overarching message, the Biennale 2026 proposes a poly-rhythm—a chorus of voices improvising, dialoguing, and responding like a jam session.

Why this Biennale will have global impact

The strength of In Minor Keys lies in its singular position:
it rejects visual saturation, overabundance, and the spectacle of global exhibitions.

Instead, the 2026 Biennale:

• restores vernacular practices, slow gestures, and ancestral knowledge;
• places artists at the centre as mediators rather than performers;
• reconnects art with its emotional and social functions;
• aligns with the critical issues of 2026: ecology, cultural archipelagos, polyphony, decolonising imaginaries, collective care.

This makes it one of the most anticipated exhibitions in the world.

A powerful tribute to Koyo Kouoh

Because the exhibition is realised exactly according to her plans, with the approval of her family, In Minor Keys becomes an act of transmission.

Koyo Kouoh leaves behind:

• a relational vision of the world;
• a radical defence of Afro-descendant artists and plural knowledge systems;
• a deeply anti-colonial, poetic, embodied gaze;
• a conception of art as breath, rhythm, meditation, and care.

The 2026 Biennale stands as one of the final major curatorial works of her time — and perhaps her most intimate.

📍 Biennale Arte 2026 — Practical Information

Dates: 9 May – 22 November 2026
Locations: Giardini, Arsenale, and various sites across Venice
Theme: In Minor Keys

Why you should follow this edition

The Biennale Arte 2026 reinvents the museum experience.
It restores attention to what the world often overlooks: sensitivity, slowness, discreet voices.
It opens a new path for contemporary creation: more human, softer, more polyphonic.

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