Françoise Schein. AIPOTU. A portrait in reverse

From 16th May to 31st August 2025, the Grand Curtius will be hosting the ‘AIPOTU’ exhibition devoted to artist Françoise Schein.

"Françoise Schein invariably bases her projects on the texts that make up the Declaration of Human Rights. While inscribing fundamental rights on city walls, often and everywhere, is both the guiding principle and the be all and end all of her projects, (...) each city in which she is invited to produce her work is unique, so each project has to be unique as well”.

Betina Zalcberg

In addition to the exhibition, there is also a programme of events, including a course for children between 8 and 12 years, which will take place from 28th to 30th April 2025: https://www.grandcurtius.be/fr/actualites/agenda/stage-autour-de-francoise-schein-etre-un-artiste-de-aipotu

The “Françoise Schein. AIPOTU. A portrait in reverse” exhibition

This militant plastic artist, who was born in Brussels in 1953, is renowned for her monumental artistic contributions that combine architecture and art, ceramic frescos and other public works, tracing a network between the world’s cities such as Brussels, Liège, Paris, Lisbon, Berlin, Stockholm, London, New York, Ramallah, Haifa, Haiti, Barcelona and Rio de Janeiro, among others.

What is less well known is that in tandem she also produces more modest works of art that accompany, as if in contrast, the gigantic scale of her urban interventions. Some of these works – such as drawings with delicate lines and sculptures with precious contours – many of which have never been presented before, are on display here.

Appreciating the link, indeed the interdependence, between these two aspects of Françoise Schein's work is a rare opportunity that offers a rich interpretation of her career, all the more so since the works on show are accompanied in this exhibition by elements of her grey matter: notes, essays, sketches and interviews, shedding light on the development of her artistic thinking.

Indeed, what is the thinking that this artist depicts – often using ceramic tiles –, at the four corners of the earth? Some might say that it is a sort of utopian idea but one that Françoise pursues relentlessly: to inscribe the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on city walls.

In doing so and by providing certain projects with a participatory dimension involving a broad audience, especially young people, she is raising awareness while encouraging the next generation of artists.

By investing public spaces, it is not only the boundaries of art that she is pushing back but also the political and social frontiers of the artistic world. The scope of her work defies definitions because it blends genres and registers, combining aesthetics with ethics, fantasy with history and, above all, the intimate experiences of individuals with the universal aspects of humanity.

Curators: Betina Zalcberg, Lohana Schein

This exhibition is a production by the Architecture Unit of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation in partnership with the Grand Curtius museum complex and artist Françoise Schein.

Publication

A bilingual book in French and English accompanies the exhibition: Zalcberg, Betina, “Françoise Schein. AIPOTU. Un portrait à rebours / A portrait in reverse”.

Published by the Architecture Unit of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation, Brussels, 2025 – ISBN: 978-2-930705-53-8

Practical information

> Musée Grand Curtius - Féronstrée, 136 - 4000 Liège, Belgium

> From 16/05/2025 to 31/08/2025 – From Monday to Sunday, from 10.00 to 18.00 – closed on Tuesday.

> Admission prices

• Adult: € 10
• Adult, group: € 8
• Senior: € 6
• Senior, group: € 6
• Unemployed: €5
• Article 27 concessions: € 1.25
• Free admission: people under 26 years old, teachers, MuseumPassMusée holders and, on the first Sunday of each month, everybody.

Visual: Françoise Schein, inauguration of “Dyades” for the Parvis de Saint-Gilles station, Brussels, 1992. Credits: François Aglalaz