From June 19-21, 2025, the public will be able to access, by reservation, the Maison de Création of Guillaume Bottazzi (Lyon, 1971), a French artist recognized as one of the pioneers of neuroaesthetics. Located in the center of the Molière district in Brussels, a short walk from Place Brugmann, the structure is housed in a Beaux-Arts-style building designed by architect Paul Picquet. The building is now classified as a heritage site, and Bottazzi has transformed it into a creative space reminiscent of the organization and identity of a Maison de Haute Couture.
The Maison houses original works created specifically for this context. It is located in an area already dense with architectural and artistic interest, close to the Horta Museum, Maison Hannon and the Marcel Broodthaers Foundation. The initiative is part of the broader journey of the artist, who is known for his environmental and in-situ interventions in Japan, China, the United States and Europe, often commissioned by museums, cities, ministries and large corporations. His works have become part of the collections of leading architects and CAC 40 groups. Bottazzi works in collaboration with artisans, technicians, glaziers, electricians and carpenters, employing natural materials with a focus on sustainability. Materials used include glazes composed of minerals such as silica, feldspar, kaolin and metal oxides, along with elements such as titanium, copper carbonate, iron oxide and manganese. His works are also made of lacquered wood, linen, ceramic, cotton, marble, stainless steel, hot-dip galvanized and powder-coated steel, as well as with the use of energy-efficient LEDs. With a desire to recover a dialogue between design, architecture and art, Bottazzi says, “I want to go back to the days when designers, architects and artists worked together.”
During the open days, the public will be able to visit the entire four-story residence, exploring environments designed to evoke emotional and cognitive effects. The works installed inside the house are designed to stimulate neuroaesthetic reactions, a current that is becoming increasingly prevalent in the contemporary built environment. According to the principles of neuroaesthetics, Bottazzi’s works act on the production of chemicals such as dopamine, serotonin and oxytocin, helping to improve people’s mental and physical well-being, promoting social cohesion and counteracting anxiety and loneliness. These effects were also confirmed by the World Health Organization in a 2019 publication.
Inside the Maison, each environment is designed according to an experiential logic. The entrance hall features site-specific works, followed by backlit enamels and Statuary marble mosaics. The main floor features large canvases, while the studio’s color schemes recall Japan’s Edo period. The room overlooking the garden features seven backlit enamels that encourage a state of serenity and creativity. One of the rooms, in red hues, is designed to stimulate conversation and quicken the heartbeat. The “Blue Room,” on the other hand, slows the heart rate and promotes creativity. Here is an oil painting on raw linen canvas measuring 1.90 by 2.40 meters. The garden, inaccessible from the outside, is an oasis of biodiversity, inhabited by numerous species of birds and illuminated by light installations called Lucioles.
Access to the Maison de Création during Open Days will be by reservation only, by writing to: mediationculturelleartsvisuels@gmail.com. Visitors will need to submit a confirmation of registration.
Bottazzi, born in France in 1971, has lived in Brussels since 2012 and has a 30-year career with more than 100 environmental works made in Europe, Asia, and the United States. He is the author of permanent interventions for institutions such as the Mori Art Museum, Miyanomori International Art Museum, Suntory Museum of Art, Tokyo National Art Center, the city of Tokyo, and the metropolitan government of the Japanese capital. He has also collaborated with the French Ministry of Culture, the city of Nice, the European Union and the Belgian government. His works are in private collections in the United States, such as those of the William Whipple Collection and the Queen Shorough Collection. The artist launched his career at a very young age, at seventeen, against the advice of his family. After a difficult start, also spent on the streets of Florence, he studied painting and later moved to New York, where he attended Baruch College. He describes himself as self-taught. He was awarded by the French Ministry of Culture, which assigned him an atelier, then left to move to the United States. In New York he has exhibited at Goldstrom Gallery and the White Cube Gallery Annex.
His exhibitions include participations in Russia at the National Museum in Novosibirsk and the National Center of Contemporary Art in Moscow. In 2010, at the initiative of various Japanese institutions including the Mori Art Museum, he created a 100-square-meter monumental work in downtown Tokyo. The following year, he painted Japan’s largest painting on the facade of the Miyanomori International Museum of Art, allocating the proceeds to post-tsunami reconstruction. This museum’s collection also includes works by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Daido Moriyama, Lucio Fontana, Frank Stella, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, Lee Ufan, and Bottazzi himself. Since 2004 he has collaborated with the Japanese gallery Itsutsuji, which has promoted the work of artists such as Yayoi Kusama, Simon Hantaï and Pierre Soulages. In Europe, he participated in the Marseille European Capital of Culture program in 2013 with a 36m² work. In 2015 he created a 216 m² monumental painting in Paris La Défense, while in 2024 he signed a 150 m² polyptych visible from the Arc de la Défense, part of France’s largest open-air art route, alongside works by Calder, Miró, Buren and Takis. The latter work is labeled as part of the cultural programming of the Paris 2024 Olympics.
In 2016, he participated in Hong Kong’s “French May,” a cultural event sponsored by the French government, which had 1.7 million visitors. His works have also been commissioned by the European Commission, the city of Brussels, and supported by the French Embassy in Belgium, where he created a 16-meter-high painting, now part of the Belgian capital’s artistic heritage.
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| Guillaume Bottazzi opens his Maison de Création in Brussels to the public |
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