Luc Tuymans

The paintings of Luc Tuymans explore the space between representation and memory, exposing the inner logic of mythology and narration. Often based on historical themes, his works uncover the banality of evil, engaging with the atrocities of our shared past through simplified compositions and a restrained brushwork.

Tuymans was born in Mortsel, Belgium, in 1958, at a time when the country was reckoning not only with the devastations of World War II and the definitive unravelling of Nazi ideology, but also with its role as a ruthless colonial power in Africa. Questions of ethics, morality and social guilt were at the forefront of public debates of the time, and constantly return in Tuymans’s art as sources of fear and fascination.

He first became interested in art at a young age, when he saw a painting by Mondrian at the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague. Experiencing abstract art, with its ability to convey immediacy and monumentality, constituted a formative moment for Tuymans. His art studies began formally in 1976 when he enrolled at the Sint-Lukasinstituut in Brussels. He then studied at the National School of Visual Arts of La Cambre, Brussels from 1979 to 1980, and the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Antwerp from 1980 to 1982. Finally, he took a degree in Art History at the Free University of Brussels, graduating in 1986.   

Tuymans started to gain recognition as a painter between the 1980s and 1990s, when his art was praised for its non-narrative approach and its dreamlike conflation of subjects, symbols and mental associations. Works of this period, such as ‘Gaskamer’ (1986) deal with the subject of the Holocaust and attempt to respond to Theodor Adorno’s famous question whether it is possible to create art following the tragedies of the war. Tuymans joined the debate through blurry, sparsely coloured paintings that seem to both communicate and withhold meanings.

The artworks produced in the following decades, rendered in muted palettes and economical compositions, reveal ambiguous meanings under their quiet, unassuming appearance. Typically produced on a large scale, with dull tones and vague settings, they attempt to capture the indescribable feelings of grief, guilt and loneliness. Often finding inspiration in film, television and photographs, both his own and from war archives, Tuymans creates images that are at the same time distant and familiar, minimalistic yet exceedingly emotive. 

The artist has exhibited his paintings in numerous group and solo exhibitions throughout the 1990s, including the 1992 documenta in Kassel and the 2001 Venice Biennale, where he represented Belgium. More recent exhibitions include ‘Eternity’ at David Zwirner’s Paris branch (2022), ‘Seconds’ at Zeno X Gallery in Antwerp (2021) and ‘Good Luck’, at David Zwirner’s Hong Kong location (2020). His works have been presented in international institutions and are now featured in permanent museum collections worldwide, such as the Art Institute of Chicago, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, Fondazione Prada, Milan and Tate, London. 

Tuymans, who lives and works in Antwerp, is considered one of the most significant European painters of his generation. His artworks, which include not only paintings but also murals, drawings and graphic works, continue to fascinate viewers and influence emerging artists.