Ulrich Loock

The surface of Tuymans' small paintings are monochromatic and frail, as if recuperating from a long illness. In the traditions of Flemish and Spanish still-life genre painting, they represent domestic scenes or commonplace objects. They resonate, however, with a sense of the uncanny. Hovering beneath the surface of Tuymans' quiet paintings are deep-seated anxieties that rise to the surface in his depictions of faces or parts of the body. Though modest in scale and sensitive in execution, the work's power lies in conveying a sense of violence or a haunting evocation of lost lives and repressed histories. The interview with Aliaga traces the psychology and sources of Tuymans' work. Loock looks at his paintings through a series of exhibitions and the effect their installation has on our readings of them. Spector chooses "Pillows" to explore the narratives of lost loves and sleepless nights. Tuymans chooses Platonov's "Chevengur" and complements it with his essay "Disenchantment", to reveal his motives and methods. The book is part of a series of studies of important artists of the late-20th century. Each title offers a comprehensive survey of the artist's work, providing analyses and multiple perspectives on contemporary art and its inspiration.… (more)

This new series, called ‘Mwana Kitoko - Beautiful White Man’ refers to the colonial issue and more especially to the situation in the Belgian Congo. The topic he wishes to deal with has in recent times once more come to the fore in, among other things, several controversial publications. A commission has also recently been appointed to investigate Belgium’s involvement in the murder of the founder of the Congo National Movement, Patrice Lumumba. For the Biennale, every country is supposed to represent itself in the field of art. Such factors as chauvinism and national pride are however always present under the surface. Tuymans considers it important, in this setting, to show a number of works that refer to the country’s history, and particularly to Belgium’s colonial past. He does not deal directly with socio-political subjects. He tries, rather, to indirectly chart the images associated with the policy of colonial expansion. His intention is by no means to create a linear and cohesive narrative in this cycle of works. The aim is to offer several possible lines of thought by evoking a particular atmosphere. At the same time, these paintings signal another trend which is closely related to such phenomena as globalisation. In this regard, various international exhibitions are making the attempt to integrate artists from ‘elsewhere’, mainly third world countries, into the Western circuit and thereby to open up the domain of art even further. Initiatives like this might easily result in a new form of cultural imperialism, and it would thereby run the risk not being validated on the same terms. In this respect, ‘Mwana Kitoko’ is intended to provide a degree of balance by presenting an exhibition which is very specifically restricted to an episode from national history, but one which still continues to have international consequences today.
Published in conjunction the Belgian Pavilion of the Venice Biennale. Text in Dutch, English and French by Robert Storr, Philippe Pirotte and Jan Hoet. Includes numerous colour illustrations.… (more)

Ulrich Loock, curator of the artist's exhibition at the Kunsthalle Bern (1992) and author of influential texts on recent European art, uses Tuyman's installation of exhibitions as a way of mapping key themes in his Survey. Juan Vicente Aliaga, critic for Frieze and Artforum, reveals sources and motivations through his Interview with the artist. In the Focus, Nancy Spector, whose writings have been published in Artforum and Parkett, explores the narrative possibilities of the painting Pillows (1994). Tuymans selects Chevengur (1928) for Artist's Choice, a primitivist, magical tale by Russian author Andrei Platanov, and gives a fascinating account of his work in the essay 'Disenchantment' (1991). Bern-based critic Hans Rudolf Reust surveys Tuymans' works from 1996 to the present, including the artist's important cycle of works Mwana Kitoko, a critical look at Belgium's colonial past.… (more)

Exhibition catalogue published in conjunction with show held at Museum Boymans-van Beuningen Rotterdam, Germany, May 13 - July 1, 1990. Traveled to Kunsthalle Bern, Switzerland, September 1 - October 14, 1990. Texts by Robert Gober, Ulrich Loock, Karel Schampers, and Trevor Fairbrother. Fully documents Gober's work with illustrations and well considered texts. Edited by Gober, Loock, and Schampers. Catalogue includes "Inventory List," which lists the works compiled by Robert Gober since 1980 [until 1990] in chronological order, biography, exhibition history, and bibliography. Text in English and German.… (more)