Celluloid Brushes: An Anthology of the Filmic Perception of the Artist From 1267 Till Today

Films about artists often focus on their lives and biographies and less so on their actual work. Their creative process usually remains vague or is portrayed rather unconvincingly. Instead, filmmakers like to spotlight anecdotes, eccentric behaviours or historical settings. But perhaps it is precisely this inability that makes these films so intriguing?

Celluloid Brushes is an anthology of films and film posters about the representation of artists in cinema. Each film is accompanied by a poster that was specially designed by an artist at the invitation of Etablissement d'en face. The Brussels art centre launched the project in 2011 on the initiative of its then artistic coordinator Margot Vanheusden (1971-2023). Today, the collection covers more than 100 titles.

It all started with posters being displayed in the window of Etablissement d'en face to advertise their film programme. After the screening, the posters were moved inside, transforming the space into a burgeoning visual archive. Some posters were displayed on the walls, while others were put on easels, flanked by a director's chair, celluloid film reels and a ladder, the trappings of a film set.

Celluloid Brushes evokes the atmosphere of an amateur film club with a penchant for science-fiction or horror, rewriting its own canon with homemade film posters. The posters are not just promotional materials, but also visual reinterpretations of how artists have been portrayed in film and media throughout the centuries. Portraits of portraits as an homage, parody or footnote.

Between 2011 and 2018, Celluloid Brushes travelled the world, from Rotterdam to New York, showcasing new artist contributions and film screenings at every turn.

With contributions from Saâdane Afif, Jacques André, Danai Anesiadou, Marie Angeletti, Abel Auer, Thomas Bayrle, James Beckett, Tyler Berrier & Irina Jasnowski Pascual, Pierre Bismuth, Jacob Blandy, Jonathan Boutefeu, Aline Bouvy & John Gillis, Sascha Braunig, Wolfgang Breuer, Marco Bruzzone, Ben Cain, Michael Callies, Patrick Cruz, Ryan Cullen, François Curlet, Keren Cytter, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Jos De Gruyter, Christophe De Rohan Chabot, Hugo Diner, Donuts, Laurent Dupont, Marius Engh, Jana Euler, David Evrard, Cédric Fargues, Olivier Foulon, Michel François, Kasia Fudakowski, Gaillard & Claude, Rainer Ganahl, Kendell Geers, Filip Gilissen, Manuel Gnam, Steinar Haga Kristensen, Mai Hofstad Gunnes, Karl Holmqvist, Irina Jasnowski Pascual, Nora Kapfer, Laura Koerfer & Tobias Spichtig, Silvia Kolbowski, Nina Könnemann, Franciska Lambrechts, Lars Laumann, Doris Lasch, Hans Friedrich Lissmann, Gareth Long, Hans-Christian Lotz, Lucie Malbequi, Valerie Mannaerts, Gloria Maximo, Gijs Milius, Dana Munro, Josip Novosel, Sophie Nys, Jurgen Ots, Marina Pinsky, Benoît Platéus, Sam Pulitzer, Marthe Ramm Fortun, Boris Rebetez, Sébastien Reuzé, Jimmy Robert, Carissa Rodriguez, Eirik Senje, Anne Speier, Julian Stahlbohm, Monica Stricker, Robert Suermondt, Derek Sullivan, Megan Francis Sullivan, Zin Taylor, Erik Thys, Mitja Tušek & Bernard Voïta, Robin Van Besien, Michael Van Den Abeele, Charlotte Vander Borght, Elise Van Mourik, Richard Venlet, Boy Vereecken, Gert Verhoeven, Pieter Vermeersch, Danh Võ, Leen Voet, Peter Wächtler, Michael White, Stefan Wilke, Camilla Wills, Barbara Woutermartens, B. Wurtz, Reece York and Jutta Zimmermann.