Luc Tuymans: Nice

In the 1980s, Belgian artist Luc Tuymans (1958-) inaugurated a distinctive figurative style that has exerted a singular influence on his peers and on subsequent generations of artists. His compositions resonate deeply and emphasise the power of images to simultaneously convey and conceal meaning; his canvases, rendered in a muted, restrained palette, are based on pre-existing imagery drawn from a range of historical, cultural and popular media sources.

This monograph of recent work reveals how Tuymans' paintings capture the mystery, strangeness and possibilities of contemporary image-making. It highlights a body of work Tuymans has been working on since 2020 and brings together three exhibitions curated by David Zwirner: Good Luck in Hong Kong; Eternity, in Paris; and The Barn in New York. For this trilogy, Tuymans has accentuated the contrast and saturation of his paintings, underlining the urgency of our contemporary times.