(Not) All is Gold, Cloud Seven / Giovanni Morbin

curated by Emmanuel Lambion, Bn PROJECTS
in dialogue with Frédéric de Goldschmidt
04.09. 2025 – 28.02.2026

Artists:
Ignasi Aballí, Jacques André, Elena Bajo, Béatrice Balcou, Eva Barto, Thomas Bernardet, Alighiero Boetti, Kasper Bosmans, Aline Bouvy, Jérémie Boyard, Emilie Brout & Maxime Marion, Marc Buchy, Carlos Bunga, Julian Charrière, Magnus Frederik Clausen, Vaast Colson, David de Tscharner, Daniel Dezeuze, Nico Dockx, Jürgen Drescher, Laurent Dupont, Teresa Estapé, Cristina Garrido, Filip Gilissen, Valérian Goalec, Fernanda Gomes, Ferenc Gróf, Wade Guyton, Jan Henderikse, Ana Jotta, Ermias Kifleyesus, Gabriel Kuri, Pierre Leguillon, Tom Lowe, Karine Marenne, Céline Mathieu, Diego Miguel Mirabella, Jonathan Monk, Giovanni Morbin, Sophie Nys, Puppies Puppies, Emile Rubino, Kurt Ryslavy, Matthieu Saladin, Ilona Stutz, Egon Van Herreweghe, Chaïm Van Luit, Laurence Vauthier, Pieter Vermeersch, Oriol Vilanova, Andy Warhol, Elsa Werth

Cloud Seven presents (Not) All Is Gold, an exhibition exploring the shifting and relative notions of value and value creation in contemporary art. Built around works from the collection of Frédéric de Goldschmidt, the exhibition brings together 53 international artists, including 16 invitations via new commissions and loans.

Exhibition details:
Opening: Thursday 4 September 18:00-21:00
Venue: Cloud Seven, Quai du Commerce 7, 1000 Brussels

Opening hours:
Art Space: Tuesday – Saturday 14:00-18:00
Work Space: Monday 09:00-18:00

The project takes its title from the familiar proverb “not all that glitters is gold,” reformulated so as to suggest that everything might, in fact, hold value or become valuable.

Several thematic threads emerged clearly in the selection of artists and artworks. Alongside works that embrace or subvert the precious/poor nature of their constitutive materials, other creations subtly comment on the ultra-liberal economic world, and more specifically, on the art market economy and on the status of artists, as well as on the strategies which artists resort to to ensure their survival. A particular attention has also been given to works that integrate transactional reflection and mechanisms into their creative process, often by involving the collector or patron directly. Finally, a specific articulation explores the notion of otium liberale (liberal leisure), as a way to resist economic diktats.

The exhibition unfolds across four floors of Cloud Seven:

The ground floor combines a series of works that illustrate in an organic sequence the different areas of investigation of the show. Highlights, all pushing and challenging common assumptions and perspectives, are lithographs by Wade Guyton printed over a 1928 Manet exhibition catalogue from the Matthiesen Gallery in Berlin (which included a painting acquired by Frédéric de Goldschmidt’s grandmother and whose sale served as foundation for his collection of contemporary art), Jacques André’s unemployment stamp canvases commenting on the artist’s precarious status, Marc Buchy’s speculative labor contracts, Teresa Estapé’s diamond stripped of commercial worth and Giovanni Morbin’s performance documentation asserting idleness as political resistance.

The first floor (S1) focuses on the conceptual enhancing or subversion of the materiality of the artworks (with works by Ignasi Aballi, Daniel Dezeuze, Laurent Dupont, Béatrice Balcou, Pieter Vermeersch, Carlos Bunga and others), whereas the second floor (S2) presents a selection of works which reflect on transactional economies through works by i.a. Oriol Vilanova, Matthieu Saladin, Cristina Garrido or Jonathan Monk.

The 3rd floor (S3) triggers meditations on leisure, consumption, and rest, with works by Andy Warhol, Jacques André, Giovanni Morbin, Diego Miguel Mirabella and others.

Visitors will also be able to access, upon request, to the office of the collector (S4) where the artist’s gesture highlights value.