There is the wish to be special but only very few people achieve it: one of them is certainly John Fischer. Born in 1930 in Antwerp he could immigrate in 1942 via Vichy, Casablanca and Cuba to New York, where he is nicknamed “The Renaissance Man”.

He is musician (pianist and composer), visual artist (painting, sculpture & computer digital art) and writer (poems).

In the 60ies he gained notoriety with his bread sculptures. His work has been exhibited in museums around the world including MOMA and the Amsterdam Stedelijk Museum (this summer in the Chelsea Art Museum in New York).

In den 70ies he was as jazz pianist one of the key personalities of the New York “Loft Scene”. In 1975 he created together with his wife Frances Fischer-Waaskes and the sons of Dave Brubeck Environ which became with more than 1,000 concerts the main venue for avant-garde jazz. With the groups Interface and European Interface he became successful in Europe as well. In the moment he is editing a new solo piano album with ReEntry records.

In the 80ies he continued started moving between Geneva and Manhattan and became one of the pioneers of digital art where he explores as electronic painter the wide ranging universe of digital colours and a new visual vocabulary.

In the 90ies he continued with jazz and moving over the Atlantic and explored new horizons of digital arts.

This century he published two poetry books: “What’s Better?” (2005) and “Love Condition” (2010) and produced digital arts films – among them “Sabine and Arnold” which was first shown at the Beersheba Film Festival in Israel. He is finishing in the moment his autobiography which will be published in 2012.

As he has only been back in his home country for two short visits in 1976 and 1978 he accepted voluntarily our invitation to share with the indigenous as well with the new international Belgians his arts and his life:

Wednesday, 19 October 2011
18.30-20.00
John Fischer – “The Renaissance Man” – back in Belgium
Reading from his autobiography
and
Viewing of one of his digital arts films
and
Discussion
Brussels Press Club Europe
Brussels Press Club
Rue Froissart 95
B-1040 Brussels

To facilitate the organisation, please confirm your participation fschwalbahoth@yahoo.de

Roland Stürmer and Frank Schwalba-Hoth

PS: We might finish the evening in a (jazz) club in the city center, where John might play.