An Insider’s Guide to Brussels by Jean Boghossian

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I was born in Aleppo, Syria, but grew up in Lebanon. I first came to Brussels in 1970 when I was 20 years old. I come from a family of jewelers and was on my way to Antwerp to learn about the diamond business, but then spent the next few years traveling the world in search of gemstones. When I returned to Brussels in 1975, I had just fled the civil war in Beirut. People were shooting at each other without knowing why, and I didn’t want to die from a stray bullet. In the same year, I met my wife and opened the first Boghossian office in Europe. I currently live in Monaco, but Brussels has been my home for a long time.

Brussels is the center of the European Union. It is a politically and culturally important city where many different nationalities intersect. It’s not as big as Paris or London, but it still has its charm. It was here that I discovered for the first time that art can come to life. I learned to paint as a jeweler, but in Moen Orient’s way of thinking, businessmen don’t paint. I started doing it gradually. During the day, I worked with diamonds. In the evening, we attended a class hosted by a local artist. When my son was 9 years old, I bought him a set of art supplies for Christmas, but he never touched them. In the end, it became a gift from him to me.

One of the great things about Brussels is that there is a lot of funding for the arts through the Arts Decree and the Mondrian Foundation. In the 90s, I enrolled at the Royal Academy of Art and began my journey into abstraction and working with smoke and fire. Today, I’m best known for that. At the time, I was paying 100 euros a year thanks to a subsidiary of the Walloon-Brussels Federation, but it was an education worth millions of dollars. By 2015, I dedicated myself to art full-time and exhibited frequently at the Black Box Gallery on Haute Street and the now-closed Gallery Guy Le Dune.

Although there are many museums in Brussels, there are three large and important ones. One is the Royal Museum of Art, which exhibits Western art from the 15th to the 21st century. Wiels, a collection of mostly modern and contemporary works. Beaux Arts is a grand Art Deco building designed by Victor Horta in the city’s Royal Quarter.

Brussels is the birthplace of Belgian Surrealism, and Beaux-Arts recently celebrated 100 years since the movement’s beginning with an exhibition of works by Delvaux, Dali, Magritte and Jane Graverolle. Don’t forget Witchiana, the museum of book art and bookbinding with over 3,000 books on display. I exhibited a selection of rescued books in this space in 2013 and was recently invited back to present a selection of new works on paper, wood and canvas.

Some of my paintings were also featured on the walls of Steigenberger Icon Wiltcher’s on Rue Louise. This is a lovely place to stay. I’m a real hotelier. We also recommend Odette-en-Ville, a boutique-style hotel housed in a 1920s private residence, and Hotel Amigo, located next to the Grand Place. Considered one of the most beautiful squares in Europe, this square is surrounded by 17th-century stone buildings and is close to many excellent restaurants.

For traditional Belgian delicacies, head to Chez Leon or Haut Armes de Bruxelles on Rue Boucher. I also love the Italian food here. Hotel Amigo has a top Italian restaurant called Bocconi. I ordered the truffle pumpkin risotto. Elsewhere, Al Piccolo Mondo is a family-run spot serving some of the best Italian wines like Primitivo and Amarone. I don’t drink beer.

Inspiration can be found anywhere, so I always carry a sketchbook with me. Schleiper is one of the largest providers of art supplies, a place where you can walk around and pick out pigments, oils, and brushes you can’t easily find elsewhere.

Most of my days are spent at my studio in Uccle, next to the city, or at Villa Empain, where the Boghossian Foundation’s headquarters are located. My family and I purchased this building in 2006 and have since transformed it into an arts center dedicated to opening a dialogue between East and West. Yes, I’m an optimist. But I believe that art is the only language that doesn’t need to be fought. Even if you don’t agree, at least you can eat a good meal afterwards. Pasta or mussels?

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