Article translated by Amritee Mahabir

The Belgian artist, Luc Tuymans is one of the most influential contemporary painters today. He is somewhat distinctive in that he continued to paint during a time when many believed the medium had lost its relevance. Nevertheless, he himself lost his faith in this medium of expression in the eighties and for two years decided to dedicate himself to film-making. But his passion for painting brought him back to the paintbrush, introducing new techniques in producing his works taken from photography, television and cinema. His “immaterial images” are always conditioned by his experiences in other media. This influence finds expression in the use of film sequences, and the way in which he fades colours to give the image of old photographs.
Tuymans’ themes vary from the old traditions of Flemish and Spanish masters with ideas and inspirations derived from recent stories, for example: American hope deluded by a magnificent dream, the horror of nazism, the Belgian post-colonial period and the tensions generated by Flemish nationalism. Luc Tuymans’ is a cheat compared to the German, Gerhard Richter. In fact his paintings often stems from photographs of historical events and the news, which he transposes onto the canvass with what seems to be negligence but is actually a refined technique. Even images that belong to insignificant moments of daily and private life are transformed in his paintings into deep moments of pathos that asks us to question their actual source. In such aesthetic enquires, Tuymans doesn’t intervene as an external observer but as a participant and actor.
By now, Tuymans has also gained a notable position within the art market His particularly demanding compositions have already exceeded a million euros at auction, but it’s still possible to acquire significant works spending between 100 and 200 million euros. His personal record was in May 2005 when his oil painting “Sculpture” went under the hammer at Christie’s New York for 1,300,000 dollars (equal to 1, 010,000 euros) after being valued at 500-700 million dollars. Another important sale was verified again at Christie’s in 2006 when his oil on flax “Mrs” of 1999 sold for 950,000 dollars starting from an initial 800,000-1,200,000 dollar estimate. His works are curated by the Zeno X Gallery in Anversa, David Zwirner and by the Brooke Alexander gallery in New York.
Many collectors also appreciate Tuymans cards, which offer an excellent relationship between price and quality at 15/40 million euros, while his coloured lithographs are valued at 2/5 million euros. Tuymans represents his country in the Venice Biennale, earning notable success and after some years of being the protagonist of an exhibition at the Tate Modern in London. Finally an exceptional occasion presents itself for us to get to know this famous artist well celebrated among the new generation. To celebrate the fiftieth birthday of the artist, the Bavarian Haus der Kunst of Monaco will host “When springtime is coming” a retrospect of 90 works. Other than a vast selection of paintings that show his past thirty years of work, there is also an exhibition of a mural executed especially for the occasion.

Official exhibition site www.hausderkunst.de