To celebrate friendship and cultural diversity, Alliance Française and the Embassy of Belgium in Pakistan present the series of art-appreciation lectures “Discovering Belgian Art,” by painter and art historian Mariano Akerman. 

“The Marvel of Belgian Art” is an educational lecture on a unique cultural phenomenon that Mr. Akerman devotes to the visual arts of Belgium and the Pakistani public. The event is organized by the Alliance Française Lahore and is presented in the Auditorium of the National College of Arts in Lahore on Saturday, April 11, 2009, at 3:00 pm. 4 Mall Road, Lahore

In Pakistan, Mr. Akerman has dealt with Belgian Art in two other lectures, which were organized by the Alliance Française in Karachi and Islamabad in 2008.

Among the major achievements of the Belgian artists are the invention and diffusion of the oil painting technique, the fostering of new artistic styles, the depiction of images showing real or invented figures, and the formulation of what may be the most incredible questioning of the concept of reality in the history of art.

Art Historian Mariano Akerman reveals the singularity and originality of a select group of Belgian masterpieces. He examines their historical context, aesthetic qualities, style and meaning, to appreciate them from unexpected perspectives.

The lecture is accompanied by the projection of images and its motto is a profound idea of writer Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “You only see well with the heart, the essential is invisible to the eye.”

Mariano Akerman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1963. He was educated at the School of Architecture of Universidad de Belgrano and completed his studies with a prized graduation project on the limits and space in modern architecture in 1987. Abroad during the 1990s, he researches the paintings of Francis Bacon and architectural projects of Louis Kahn. Specializing in visual communication, Mariano Akerman is an experienced educator. He takes a special interest in modern art and in Belgian painting in particular. He has lectured on this topic at renowned institutions such as the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Buenos Aires and the National Museum of the Philippines in Manila. A painter himself, Akerman has exhibited his artwork solo or in group in Argentina, Spain, Japan, Philippines and Sweden. He has been awarded with twelve major international prizes.

Discovering Belgian Art - http://akermariano.blogster.com/discovering-belgian-art-230608061753 

Alliance Française Karachi - http://danka.com.pk/karachi/viewEvent.php?id=4110

IFWA Center Islamabad - http://www.danka.com.pk/viewEvent.php?id=4233 

Video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q4FExZ5WsM

Belgian Species - http://linnaeus.blogster.com/belgian-species