Luc Tuymans (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon)) [Paperback]

Ulrich Loock (Author)

Book Description

Series: Contemporary Artists (Phaidon) | Publication Date: September 19, 1996

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.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Phaidon Press (September 19, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 071483551X
• ISBN-13: 978-0714835518
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 9.8 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,602,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Psychoanalytical Illuminations of Luc Tuymans, June 20, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Luc Tuymans (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon)) (Paperback)

This book on Luc Tuymans is an excellent introduction to the strange world of this internationally reknowned Belgian Painter. What is it that stirs up the bizarre fascination of cognoscenti for this artist? At the very least, it is attributable to the deeply psychological expression that this artist conjures from his sometimes murky palatte, as well as his subject matter. He addresses these ideas in relation to living as an artist in this modern world and a Freudian psychoanalysis of history that seems all to prevalent in this information age; including, everything from the New York art world as evidenced in his painting "Heritage", which alludes to Jasper Johns flag painting and the Holocaust in paintings like "Our New Quarters". This artist also takes these issues to subjects like the body, which through his investigation and isolation of its various parts he formulates the queerness that follows a banal rendition of the functions of that space. In addtion, as a psychoanalytical historian this artist attempts to fuse the mundanity of the conscious world with the fanatsy of the world of dream, which always seems to be off center, and could be related to the work of Alex Katz and Robert Gober. At any rate, this book provides an excellent insight into the world created by Luc Tuymans, and comes highly recommneded by art lovers and aficianados alike.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars VERY USEFUL., February 23, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Luc Tuymans (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon)) (Paperback)

The illustrations in the book are very fine. The interview with the artist gives more insight into his work than any of the writings in the book including his own. There is a good deal of critical double talk and bullshit, but biographical information, and useful details seem to slip through as well.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars At times a bland palette becomes supernatural in meaning, January 13, 2011

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Luc Tuymans (Contemporary Artists (Phaidon)) (Paperback)

Luc Tuymans, born 1958, is a Belgian artist who remains one of the most influential artists of the day. To the casual observer his paintings may seem unfinished, mere sketches for something more thoroughly thought through. But that is his signature - a very bland, nearly monochromatic palette that captures faces, figurative works, interiors of contemporary homes or buildings and makes them seem simultaneously vague as though viewed through veils of memory or curtains of time and immediate - and demanding our attention to the detail at times left unpainted.

This book may not be the definitive volume on his career to date, but it does supply information from the artist's words that is sadly lacking in other publications. He offers insights as to his choices of subject matter without denying that he often works with images that suggest if not illustrate violence. His images often are reproductions of the faces of well known people - such as Condoleeza Rice and Lumumba - capturing the aspect of the various 'models' he chooses to present the unspoken words they may be forming. He is unafraid to make painterly comments that are politically charged - a factor that helps make his art so poignant in today's world. He is a painter to observe and this fine book gives a solid introduction to his creativity. Grady Harp, January 11