Cultural Compass: Ancient objects, towering scultpures and an art critic's oeuvre

Every Sunday, Belga English picks its favourite events from the cultural agenda. This week: Pre-Hispanic Ecuador provides a deep look into the past, church spires are given a new identity next to the River Meuse and a look back at one of Belgium’s most prolific art critics.

Pre-Hispanic Ecuador, until 29 March, Art & History Museum, Brussels

Nestled in the heart of the Andes, between the Pacific Ocean and the Amazon basin, the region that is now Ecuador was the site of a remarkably rich cultural development long before the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century. In the pre-Hispanic period, a mosaic of societies flourished here, connected through vast networks of exchange linking the Costa, the Sierra and the Oriente. These communities produced an exceptional material culture, from finely decorated ceramics to objects carved from stone, worked in metal or shaped from shell, combining advanced technical skill with deep symbolic meaning.

This heritage is reflected in the “Ecuador” collection of the Royal Museums of Art and History, which comprises 582 objects. Through a complete revision of the inventory, dedicated conferences and study days, and archaeometric analyses using CT scans, scholars have gained fresh insights into a region of the Andes that remains relatively little known.

Particular attention is given to the Formative Period (c. 4000–200 BCE), when agriculture, organised villages and long-distance exchange networks first emerged. Highlights include a stone Valdivia “Venus”, an early precursor to later ceramic figurines, emblematic of one of Ecuador’s oldest ceramic traditions. Together, weapons, instruments and ritual objects reveal the extraordinary diversity and creativity of Ecuador’s ancient cultures.

Echoes of a Landscape, ongoing, Klauwenhofweg, Maaseik (between the River Meuse and the Heerenlaak lake)

Belgian artist Adrien Tirtiaux (b. 1980) draws a link between Maaseik’s past and its future in a new site-specific artwork that reimagines three familiar church spires from the region. Removed from their traditional roles, the spires are given new positions, materials and functions, inviting visitors to see the landscape and its history differently.

As Tirtiaux immersed himself in Maaseik and its surroundings, two features stood out. The historic town centre and the River Meuse are clearly divided, a separation shaped by centuries of development and reinforced by the national highway. At the same time, the relative absence of tall buildings along the riverbanks allows uninterrupted views of three landmarks: the Church of Saint Anne in Aldeneik, the Church of Saint Catherine in Maaseik and the Church of Saint James the Greater in the Dutch town of Roosteren.

These silhouettes form the backbone of the artwork. The Aldeneik spire is turned upside down, referencing the area’s history of gravel extraction and the creation of the Heerenlaak pond. The six-metre concrete structure contains gravel and features a skylight that draws the eye skywards. The Maaseik spire becomes a ten-metre brick observation platform, built from clay sourced from the Meuse. The third spire, inspired by Roosteren, takes the form of a giant megaphone aimed towards the Netherlands, symbolising cross-border dialogue. Its steel construction alludes to the industrial heritage of Liège upstream along the river.

45-65. Jan Walravens, art critic, until 5 April, FeliX Art & Eco Museum, Drogenbos

Jan Walravens (1920–1965) is best known as the spirited critic who united a post-war generation of experimental writers through the magazine Tijd en Mens. Less widely recognised is the scope of his work as an art critic. Walravens wrote extensively about art for newspapers, radio and television, and produced monographs, essays, catalogues, lectures and exhibitions. The visual identity of Tijd en Mens reflected his close ties to artists, with covers and illustrations created by friends and later by international figures from the Cobra movement.

Walravens was a singular voice, guided by his own emotions and positioning himself as the “first observer”. He rejected elitism, favouring a clear, direct style that made art accessible to a broad audience.

His versatility made him a central presence in the post-war literary and artistic landscape. In 45–65, scholars Hans Vandevoorde and Katrien Vanhamel revisit Walravens’s thinking through an exhibition that brings together artists from different generations. Approaching both Belgian and international artists with openness and curiosity, the exhibition highlights the enduring relevance of Walravens’s way of seeing art.

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(MOH)
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_{​#FlandersNewsService | © AFP PHOTO / LUIS ROBAYO}

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