The King Baudouin Foundation is lending three logograms from the Christian Dotremont Fund for an exhibition to mark the 160th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Belgium and Japan, at Kokugakuin University in Tokyo until 28 June 2026.
The works are part of the Christian Dotremont Fund, which Guy Dotremont, Christian’s brother and heir, repatriated from France to donate them to the King Baudouin Foundation in 2011. The donation has been entrusted on long-term loan to the Archives and Museum of Literature (AML), housed at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels.
Organised by KU Leuven and Kokugakuin University, under the patronage of the Belgian Embassy in Tokyo, the exhibition also features a number of Japanese prints from the Art & History Museum in Brussels, as well as a lacquered box that was presented at the 1905 inauguration of the Japanese Tower in Brussels. Documents from the Diplomatic Archives and the Palace Archives illustrate key milestones of this bilateral relationship.
The exhibition ends with an invitation to move beyond ‘Japonisme’, with the presentation of three logograms created by Christian Dotremont from the King Baudouin Foundation’s collection: Que le langage se dérange et enrage (Let Language be Disturbed and Enrage, 1969), Les mots ne sont pas les choses... (Words are Not Things, 1972) and Parcours géographique et géologique d'accidents (A geographical and Geological Journey of Accidents, 1976).
One of the founders of the CoBrA movement, Dotremont was fascinated by Chinese and Japanese calligraphy, although he insisted that his logograms were not calligraphy in the traditional sense of the term. It is under this guise that his work will be presented in the exhibition.
Whilst Christian Dotremont’s work is experiencing a resurgence of interest in Belgium, it remains largely unknown in Japan. This exhibition thus presents a rare occasion for the Japanese public to discover his work.
Practical information:
Belgium & Japan 160 years of friendship
Kokugakuin University Museum
4 Chrome-10-28 Higashi, Shibuya
Tokyo 150-8440
Until June 28, 2026
Thursday, Saturday and Sunday: 10h – 18h
Friday: 10h – 20h