An exclusive dinner with Michaël Borremans

Michaël Borremans is a Belgian artist known for his haunting, meticulously crafted images that blur the line between reality and fiction. He transforms centuries-old painting techniques with an uncanny contemporary sense of the absurd and theatrical. Inspired by Édouard Manet, Degas as well as Diego Velázquez, he depicts anonymous figures engaged in obscure or ritualistic actions that leave viewers with a state of quiet unease. They resist narrative with an aesthetic elegance that appears to be legible and yet remain fundamentally opaque. Borremans rose to prominence in the early 2000s, attracting attention for his combination of classical technique and unsettling, enigmatic subject matter. His reputation quickly expanded internationally. In 2014, he was the subject of a major mid-career retrospective at the BOZAR Centre for Fine Arts in Brussels. His work has been exhibited in leading museums worldwide, including the Museum of Modern Art and the Art Institute of Chicago.

Kendell Geers is a contemporary artist. His work confronts universal themes of love, resilience, and hope, driven by his belief that the act of making art is what defines humanity itself. In times of social crisis and political extremism, his work challenges audiences to consider how art can build bridges and restore a sense of shared humanity. Extending this vision, Geers hosts the Art Matters tables at TheMerode. Bringing together performance, philosophical inquiry, and community engagement, Art Matters embodies his conviction that art is not a passive pursuit but an active force for change. At its heart lies the idea that art changes the world, one perception at a time.