(Photo: VCG)

Belgium's profound artistic and cultural heritage has led to the strong development of cultural industries, such as art galleries, antique shops, auctions and festivals.

This has let Belgium art collectors thrive, including collectors who specialize in Chinese art, such as Guy Ullens and Myriam Ullens, who collect ancient and contemporary Chinese paintings, and Gisele Croes, who established the Gisele Croes Gallery which focuses on Asian culture.

Belgium's passion for Asian culture

Belgium hosts art fairs and art weeks every year, including the annual BRAFA antiques fair in Brussels at the end of January.

BRAFA is one of the leading European art and antique fairs thanks to its commitment to showcasing a wide variety of work. Here, all artworks on show are for sale and everything exhibited needs to be of a high quality and completely authentic.

Another is the annual Asian Art in Brussels (AAB) festival, which takes place in June. It mainly involves Chinese, Himalayan and Japanese art. 

The exhibitors are in the heart of Sablon, a Brussels hub for antique dealers that is much more geographically concentrated than the London equivalent.

Two Belgian artists linked to Asian Art

Gisele Croes

The Gisele Croes Gallery was established in Brussels in 1976 by a young antique dealer, Gisele Croes.

Gisele Croes born in Antwerp, and studied literature at Universite Libre de Bruxelles (ULB). She was invited to China with her husband in the early 1960s and worked in Beijing from 1962 to 1965. 

This early experience awakened in her a growing interest in Chinese art and culture.

In 1976, she opened a gallery in Brussels, Belgium, to promote understanding and appreciation of the fine arts of the Oriental.

Since then, the gallery has been expanding, and Gisele Croes has gradually become a world-class expert on ancient Chinese bronzeware.

According to Sohu's report, she is always trying to present art from different dynasties that can show the richness and diversity of Chinese culture.

"Files of National Treasures," a program made by China Central Television (CCTV) also interviewed Gisele at her gallery in Brussels, Belgium.

During the interview, Gisele also showed her love for Chinese art and knowledge of every piece on display, which come from several Chinese dynasties.

Guy Ullens

When people think of contemporary art in China, they will think of Beijing's 798, and when they enter the 798 art zone, they will immediately think of the 8,000 square meter Ullens Center for Contemporary Art (UCCA).

According to the Global People, a magazine run by the People's Daily, the journey of Guy Ullens to China is like a fairy tale, and the story is still not finished.

In 1986, Guy Ullens came to China for the first time on a visit related to his family's business. 

However, during his spare time, he visited the central academy of fine arts and several artists' villages in Beijing to learn about Chinese art.

His collection began with ancient Chinese art, including paintings and calligraphy from different dynasties.

In 1991, he was introduced to Zhang Songren, an art promoter, by a friend and was introduced into the field of Chinese contemporary art.

Guy Ullens left the family business in 2000 to focus on art and has since become a board member for several international museums and art centers, including Tate Britain, and has a presence in western art circles.

He has co-hosted Chinese contemporary art exhibitions with leading European art galleries several times and provided financial support to Chinese artists attending the Venice Biennale, greatly promoting Chinese art internationally.

The UCCA was initially positioned as a "nonprofit" organization. "We are here to spend money, not to make money," said Ullens. 

However, according to Sina's report, along with an official announcement from UCCA, Guy Ullens, the founder, entrusted the UCCA and its art collection to a new owner in 2016.

The center became more commercial to match the Chinese art market's new period of development in China.

Many think that the departure of Guy Ullens means that the period of western capital appropriating Chinese art has passed and that contemporary Chinese art can rely on the domestic market in the future.