INTERVIEW : Our Meeting with the Belgian Creative Blogger Victoria France B.

I’m a blogger who loves bloggers. Especially the ones who brings their personal touch to the blogosphere, and share with their readers more than a umpteenth picture of their breakfast. I virtually met Victoria few months ago through Instagram. I was working at Art Brussels, and as the good instagrammer addict (junkie?) than I’m,  I was reviewing the pictures tagged under the #artbrussels hashtag when I stopped on Miss Bardiau’s profile. Her very refreshing and playful look on the fashion industry, but also on the art world made me want to learn more about this witty young lady. Her blog “Pop it. Rock it. Art it.” already received an award in Belgium, it is a perfect blend of fashion, creative energy and culture.Through her interview Victoria is taking us on world class art tour, telling us all about her favourite art spots, and how she thinks that Chicago might be to most arty city on the globe. Read It. Art It.

First of all can you introduce yourself and “Pop it. Rock it. Art it.” to our readers?

My name is Victoria France Bardiau, I am 25 years old and I’m an art, fashion & life lover. I studied advertising and graphic design in Brussels, I did internships at ELLE Belgique and Almine Rech Gallery, I work a bit on the communication and the social networks for Crossword Brussels -my dad’s shops-, for WAPP and Peckers & King -my mum’s projects-, I worked with the fashion buyer team for Harvey Nichols Riyadh and now I am working on different projects, all in fashion, communication and social networks and I’m very excited to reveal them soon!

Pop it Rock it Art it is actually a mix and match of all those things that surround me, that I love and that inspires, touches and fascinates me in this arty little world.

To me, fashion is an art and art has become very fashionable. I am obsessed with ARTxFASHION collaborations and it makes me very happy and excited when a brand or a house collaborates with an artist.  Because that’s what it’s all about, art and fashion is all about beauty and emotions. And it is this sensitivity -for what is beautiful and touching- that I want to share.

As you are probably one of the most artsy fashion blogger in Brussels, what are your favourites art spots in the Belgian capital?

My favorite art gallery is without any hesitation Meessen De Clerq. I really like the artists Jan and Olivier choose to represent, the exhibitions are always refined and touching, the choice of the different artworks is always meticulously curated and you always arrive there with a warm welcome. I also really like Rodolphe Janssen, Xavier Hufkens, Gladstone Gallery, Greta Meert, Maruani & Mercier, Albert Baronian and Almine Rech of course.

For the best museums, I could go every day to the Musée Magritte -one of my favorite artists-, the WIELS, the CAB and Bozar.

What do you think about the contemporary art scene in Brussels?

I think Brussels is very pointy when it comes to contemporary art. We have a lot of belgian -or living in Belgium- confirmed artists and newcomers, and we have the chance to host Art Brussels every year, which is a renown art fair. We have a lot of reputed contemporary museums, galleries, art dealers and art collectors. Actually, contemporary art has become something we deal with almost every day, whether at home, in the street, in magazines or on the internet, art is everywhere.

I really like and admire contemporary art and contemporary artists, but I am sad to see that art has become such a business and that some very good artists struggle to make their way through this immense and powerful market that has become art.

Which current exhibitions are your recommending in Brussels?

Ana Torfs and Mark Leckey at WIELS, Kokoschka & Gauguin at Musées royaux des Beaux-arts de Belgique, Paul Delvaux at Musée d’Ixelles and Rubens at Bozar.

You seemed to be a bit of a globetrotter, what are your favourites art galleries and museums abroad?

My favorite museums are obviously the MoMa in New Yok and the LACMA in Los Angeles for their perfect modern art selection, but there’s also the Guggenheim in New York -by Frank Lloyd Wright-, the Guggenheim in Bilbao -by Frank O. Gehry- and the Milwaukee Art Museum next to Chicago -by Calatrava- for their architecture, the Chateau la Coste in France for its wonderful arty walk in the middle of the vines, the Jeu de Paume in Paris for its small but significant exhibitions, the Park Güell in Barcelona -by Gaudi- for the beautiful view and the National Gallery for the authenticity of art.

According to you what is the most arty city you ever been too?

Surprisingly, Chicago is probably the most arty city I have ever been to. Every building is art, every detail is art, I just fell in love with this amazing city. Chicago is famous for its outdoor public art. A number of Chicago’s public art works are signed by modern artists such as Frank O. Gehry, Anish Kapoor, Alexander Calder, Joan Miro, Pablo Picasso, etc… And then of course, just outside the city, a bunch of Frank Lloyd Wright houses. Bref, the perfect arty city !

Let’s come back to Brussels, what are the upcoming art, design, cultural events you are looking forward to?

I’m excited to see « Les Sapins de Noël des Créateurs » at Smets Concept Store at the end of November. There will be an artwork by Raf Simons, Stella McCartney, Diane von Furstenberg, Ado Chale, Emmanuelle Lebas & Gioia Seghers, Charles Kaisin, etc… And in April, Art Brussels of course.

What are the blogs or websites you like to follow to get your dose of art, lifestyle and culture?

To be totally honest, I am not really following any blogs… I’m a bit like Gilbert and George for that, I don’t like to be influenced by other blogs so I don’t really check them out. But, I like to have some interesting news, so I use my Facebook homepage as a perfect resume of all the pages I like and it keeps me updated about everything I am interested in.

I do have a favorite website where I can geek about art during hours… If you like to discover new artists and artworks, and you have always wanted to curate your own exhibition, TheArtStack.com is the perfect place you need to be. And I have to admit that the Bubblist is one of the only blogs I check out.

Don’t forget to follow Victoria on Facebook x Tumblr x Instagram